High surface water interaction in superhydrophobic nanostructured silicon surfaces: convergence between nanoscopic and macroscopic scale phenomena

Electron microscopy approach to the wetting dynamics of single organosilanized mesopores

Columnar mesoporous silicon (PSi) with hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic chemistries was chosen as a model for the local (pore-by-pore) study of water-pore interactions. Tomographic reconstructions provided a 3D view of the ramified pore structure. An in situ study of PSi wetting was conducted for categorized pore diameters by environmental scanning TEM. An appropriate setting of the contrast allows for the normalization of the gray scale in the images as a function of relative humidity (RH). This allows constructing an isotherm for each single pore and a subsequent averaging provides an isotherm for each pore size range. The isotherms systematically point to an initial adsorption through the formation of water adlayers, followed by a capillary filling process at higher RH. The local isotherms correlate with (global) gravimetric determination of wetting. Our results point at the validation of a technique for the study of aging and stability of single-pore nanoscale devices.

Molecular dynamics simulations of water-ethanol droplet on silicon surface

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to explore the wetting behavior of a water-ethanol droplet on the silicon surface. The effect of ethanol concentration on the wettability of a water-ethanol droplet on the silicon surface was analysed by calculation of contact angle. At 30% ethanol concentrations, the water contact angle was 50.7°, while at 50% ethanol concentrations, it was 36°. The results showed that the contact angle of a droplet on a silicon surface decreases with increasing ethanol concentrations. The formation of hydrogen bonds (HBs) between water-water molecules was 677 for the 30% ethanol system, while at 50% ethanol concentrations, it was 141. The number of hydrogen bonds between water molecules reduces as the ethanol concentrations rise. The HBs between water molecules and the silicon surface is seen to grow as the ethanol concentration rises. The overall potential energies of pure water, 7:3 water-ethanol, and 1:1 water-ethanol systems are −74.4, −96.16, and −158.59 kcal/mol, respectively. The contact angle and number density of water molecules on the surface of the silicon revealed that at different ethanol concentrations, more water molecules are distributed on the silicon surface.

Surface characterization of alkane viral anchoring films prepared by titanate-assisted organosilanization

Studies of virus adsorption on surfaces with optimized properties have attracted a lot of interest, mainly due to the influence of the surface in the retention, orientation and stability of the viral capsids. Besides, viruses in whole or in parts can be used as cages or vectors in different areas, such as biomedicine and materials science. A key requirement for virus nanocage application is their physical properties, i.e. their mechanical response and the distribution of surface charge, which determine virus-substrate interactions and stability. In the present work we show two examples of viruses exhibiting strong surface interactions on homogeneous hydrophobic surfaces. The surfaces were prepared by titanate assisted organosilanization, a sol-gel spin coating process, followed by a mild annealing step. We show by surface and interface spectroscopies that the process allows trapping triethoxy-octylsilane (OCTS) molecules, exhibiting a hydrophobic alkane rich surface finishing. Furthermore, the surfaces remain flat and behave as more efficient sorptive surfaces for virus particles than mica or graphite (HOPG). Also, we determine by atomic force microscopy (AFM) the mechanical properties of two types of viruses (human adenovirus and reovirus) and compare the results obtained on the OCTS functionalized surfaces with those obtained on mica and HOPG. Finally, the TIPT+OCTS surfaces were validated as platforms for the morphological and mechanical characterization of virus particles by using adenovirus as initial model and using HOPG and mica as standard control surfaces. Then, the same characteristics were determined on reovirus using TIPT+OCTS and HOPG, as an original contribution to the catalogue of physical properties of viral particles.

Direct laser writing of nanorough cell microbarriers on anatase/Si and graphite/Si

The formation of hierarchical structures consisting of microstripe barriers decorated with nanorough ablated materials prepared by direct laser writing is described. Linear features of circa 25μm width and 12μm height are achieved on amorphous and crystalline titania and graphitic carbon films deposited on silicon. Ablated protrusions build up barriers decorated by nanoscale Si-film reconstructions, as indicated by EDX maps and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Wettability tests show a dramatic change in water contact angle, which leads to almost full wetting after irradiation, irrespective of the original film composition. Fluorescence microscopy images of human mesenchymal stem cells cultured on 1D and 2D structures demonstrate the short term biocompatibility of the ablated surfaces. It is shown that cells adhere, extend and polarize on feature edges, independently of the type of surface, thus suggesting that the created nanoroughness is at the origin of the antifouling behavior. In particular, irradiated anatase and graphite surfaces demonstrate an increased performance of crystalline films for the creation of cell guiding and trapping devices. The results suggest that such laser processing of films may serve as a time-and-cost-efficient method for the design of few-cells analytical surfaces.

Bubble-Regulated Silicon Nanowire Synthesis on Micro-Structured Surfaces by Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching

In this work, we study silicon nanowire synthesis via one-step metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) on microstructured silicon surfaces with periodic pillar/cavity array. It is found that hydrogen gas produced from the initial anodic reaction can be trapped inside cavities and between pillars, which serves as a mask to prevent local etching, and leads to the formation of patterned vertically aligned nanowire array. A simple model is presented to demonstrate that such bubble entrapment is due to the significant adhesion energy barrier, which is a function of pillar/cavity geometry, contact angle, and nanowire length to be etched. The bubble entrapment can be efficiently removed when extra energy is introduced by sonication to overcome this energy barrier, resulting in nanowire growth in all exposed surfaces. This bubble-regulated MACE process on microstructured surfaces can be used to fabricate nanowire arrays with desired morphologies.

Nanotopography enhanced mobility determines mesenchymal stem cell distribution on micropatterned semiconductors bearing nanorough areas

Surface micropatterns are relevant instruments for the in vitro analysis of cell cultures in non-conventional planar conditions. In this work, two semiconductors (Si and TiO2) have been micropatterned by combined ion-beam/chemical-etching processes leading to selective areas bearing nanorough features. A preferential affinity of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) for planar areas versus nanotopographic ones is observed. Fluorescence microscopy after β-catenin staining suggests that hMSCs adhesion is inhibited on nanostructured porous silicon areas. This has a direct impact in the development of actin fibers and suggests different cell migration mechanisms on the materials of a micropattern. hMSCs organization on nanotopographic micropatterns has been modeled by using a simplified random walk approach. The model attributes preferential cell mobilities on the nanotopographic areas with respect to the planar and considers purely stochastic movement with no inertial term. Simulations of the cell distribution have been run on 1D and 2D micropatterns and compared with the real hMSC cultures. The simulations allow defining two regimes for cell organization as a function of cell density. hMSCs ordering on planar areas is diffusion-induced in most micropatterns but constriction forced disorder appears for high cell densities. The relative mobility on the planar versus nanotopographic areas can be used as a quality indicator of the nanotopography contrasts in the diffusion induced ordering regime. It is shown that the relative mobility is favorable for the TiO2 versus the Si based system, and allows envisaging its use for the calibrated design of nanotopography based micropatterned materials.