2D nanofilms assembled by pure protein with a macroscopic area and multiple functions can be directly formed at the air/water interface or at the solid surface at a timescale of several minutes. The multifunctionality of the nanofilm coating is demonstrated by both top-down and bottom-up micro-/nanoscale interfacial engineering, including surface modification, all-water-based photo/electron-beam lithography, and electroless deposition.

By incorporating multiple strategies, passive resistance and active regeneration, robust superhydrophobicity has been explored via various approaches for diverse applications.

A proteinaceous superhydrophobic material for facile protein crystallization is reported. The lysozyme phase transition is rationally manipulated to form a reliable superhydrophobic coating on virtually arbitrary material surfaces with good thermostability and mechanical robustness. Such a surface exhibits a fascinating capability to drive protein crystallization, and the protein crystal array can be facilitated in a large area at an ultralow protein concentration.

A series of broad-spectrum antimicrobial cationic peptidopolysaccharides have been synthesized using a facile thiol–ene ‘click’ chemistry.

On page 7414, P. Yang and co‐workers develop a bioinspired multifunctional interfacial material that is a colorless and transparent 2D protein nanofilm with a rich amyloid‐like structure inside. Simple, one‐step soaking or transfer is sufficient to implant the nanofilm on many types of materials of complex shape with stable adhesion. The nanofilm coating can offer versatile opportunities for secondary surface‐mediated reactions, as well as both top‐down and bottom‐up micro‐/nanofabrication.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been widely employed as etching resists in wet lithography systems to form patterns in which the ordered molecular packing of the SAM regions significantly delays the etchant attack. A generally accepted recognition is that the SAMs ability to resist etching is positively correlated to the quality of the surface-assembled structures, and a more ordered molecular packing would correspond to a better etching resistance. Such a classical belief is debated in the present work by providing an alternative SAM-assisted negative lithography where ordered SAM regions are etched more quickly than their disordered counterparts. This method features a unique photoirradiation-imprinted patterning process that simply consists of two steps: (1) UV irradiation on an OH-terminated SAM-modified gold surface through a photomask and (2) the subsequent immersion of the exposed substrate in an aqueous etching solution of N-bromosuccinimide/pyridine to develop a wet lithographic pattern. The entire experimental process reveals a finding from previous work that the etching rate on the UV-exposed regions with disordered molecular packing could be modulated to be slower than that in the unexposed well-defined SAM regions. Longer irradiation times would also revert the patterns from negative to positive. Thus, by merely using one kind of SAM-modified surface to provide both positive and negative micropatterns on gold layers, one could obtain flexible opportunities for high-resolution micro/nanofabrication resembling photolithography.

Conspectus A super-repellent surface is a type of liquid-repellency material that allows for various liquid drops to bead up, roll off, or even bounce back. Known for its ability to remain dry, perform self-cleaning, and have a low adhesion, a super-repellent surface presents great advantages in a number of applications. These include antifogging, anti-icing, oil/water separation, and fluid drag reduction. To fend off the liquids or drops, super-repellent surfaces combine the merits of surface chemistry and physical structure. By taking advantage of a low surface energy to prevent liquid from spreading, the super-repellent surfaces utilize the micronano structure to provide a framework that confines the solid–liquid interactions. Compared to beading up the drop of water, the repellence of liquid with low surface tension requires the subtle design of surface structure to resist the wetting of liquids. However, the inherent instabilities of the fragile micronano structure of super-repellent surfaces and solid–liquid interactions further make the fabrication of super-repellent surfaces complex to withstand dynamic environments (friction or wear) during application. In addition, the transparency and thermal stability of super-repellent surfaces are also the restrictive factors in some special application scenarios. To solve these challenges, durable super-repellent surfaces that can repel various liquids, possess robust mechanical and thermal stability, and show high transparency have been explored extensively in recent years. In this Account, we systematically review our recent efforts to promote the super-repellent surfaces for real-world applications. Super-repellent surfaces that exhibit excellent resistance to various liquids, including liquids with low surface tension or high viscosity, were subtly designed and fabricated in some manner. Considering the stability of the wetting state at the solid–liquid interface, we established an evaluation system that includes highly curved surfaces and high Laplace-pressure conditions. To further perfect the wetting mechanism at the solid–liquid interactions, the dynamic wettability of super-repellent surfaces regulated by surface charge enrichment that was generated from solid–liquid interface separation was investigated. To resolve the bottleneck problem of the mechanical stability of super-repellent surfaces in real-world applications, a new decoupling material design mechanism was proposed, with a nanostructure that maintains water repellency and a microstructure providing durability. On the basis of the performance of the liquid-repellency, transparency, and mechanical and thermal stability of the super-repellent surfaces, a series of applications were demonstrated, such as microsphere synthesis, drop transportation and manipulation, and self-cleaning solar panels. Finally, a concise summary of this Account, including challenges and opportunities in super-repellent materials, has been provided. This research provides important guidance on solid–liquid interactions for ...

In‐fiber fluid instability can be harnessed to realize scalable microparticles fabrication with tunable sizes and multifunctional characteristics making it competitive in comparison to conventional microparticles fabrication methods. However, since in‐fiber fluid instability has to be induced via thermal annealing and the resulting microparticles can only be collected after dissolving the fiber cladding, obtaining contamination‐free particles for high‐temperature incompatible materials remains great challenge. Herein, confinement‐free fluid instability is demonstrated to fabricate polymeric microparticles in a facile manner induced by the ultralow surface energy of the superamphiphobic surface. The polymer solution columns break up into uniform droplets then form spherical particles spontaneously in seconds at ambient temperature. This method can be applied to a variety of polymers spanning an exceptionally wide range of sizes: from 1 mm down to 1 µm. With the aid of microfluidic spinning instrument, a large quantity of microparticles can be obtained, making this method promising for scaling up production. Notably, through simple modification of the feed solution configuration, composite/structured micromaterials can also be produced, including quantum‐dots‐labeled fluorescent particles, magnetic particles, core–shell particles, microcapsules, and necklace‐like microfibers. This method, with general applicability and facile control, is envisioned to have great prospects in the field of polymer microprocessing.