Remote control of the locomotion of small objects is a challenge in itself and may also allow for the stimuli control of entire systems. Here, it is described how encapsulated liquids, referred to as liquid marbles, can be moved on a water surface with a simple near‐infrared laser or sunlight. Using light rather than pH or temperature as an external stimulus allows for the control of the position, area, timing, direction, and velocity of delivery. This approach makes it possible to not only transport the materials encapsulated within the liquid marble but also to release them at a specific place and time, as controlled by external stimuli. Furthermore, it is shown that liquid marbles can work as light‐driven towing engines to push or pull objects. Being able to remotely transport and push/pull the small objects by light and control the release of active substances on demand should open up a wide field of conceivable applications.

A method for mesoporous supraparticle synthesis on superamphiphobic surfaces is designed. Therefore, supraparticles assembled with nanoparticles are synthesized by the evaporation of nanoparticle dispersion drops on the superamphiphobic surface. For synthesis, no further purification is required and no organic solvents are wasted. Moreover, by changing the conditions such as drop size and concentration, supraparticles of different sizes, compositions, and architectures are fabricated.

Remotely controlling the movement of small objects is desirable, especially for the transportation and selection of materials. Transfer of objects between liquid and solid surfaces and triggering their release would allow for development of novel material transportation technology. Here, we describe the remote transport of a material from a water film surface to a solid surface using quasispherical liquid marbles (LMs). A light-induced Marangoni flow or an air stream is used to propel the LMs on water. As the LMs approach the rim of the water film, gravity forces them to slide down the water rim and roll onto the solid surface. Through this method, LMs can be efficiently moved on water and placed on a solid surface. The materials encapsulated within LMs can be released at a specific time by an external stimulus. We analyzed the velocity, acceleration, and force of the LMs on the liquid and solid surfaces. On water, the sliding friction due to the drag force resists the movement of the LMs. On a solid surface, the rolling distance is affected by the surface roughness of the LMs.

In a gas membrane, gas is transferred between a liquid and a gas through a microporous membrane. The main challenge is to achieve a high gas transfer while preventing wetting and clogging. With respect to the oxygenation of blood, haemocompatibility is also required. Here we coat macroporous meshes with a superamphiphobic—or liquid repellent—layer to meet this challenge. The superamphiphobic layer consists of a fractal-like network of fluorinated silicon oxide nanospheres; gas trapped between the nanospheres keeps the liquid from contacting the wall of the membrane. We demonstrate the capabilities of the membrane by capturing carbon dioxide gas into a basic aqueous solution and in addition use it to oxygenate blood. Usually, blood tends to clog membranes because of the abundance of blood cells, platelets, proteins and lipids. We show that human blood stored in a superamphiphobic well for 24 h can be poured off without leaving cells or adsorbed protein behind.

Superhydrophobic surfaces are usually characterized by a high apparent contact angle of water drops in air. Here we analyze the inverse situation: Rather than focusing on water repellency in air, we measure the attractive interaction of air bubbles and superhydrophobic surfaces in water. Forces were measured between microbubbles with radii R of 40-90 μm attached to an atomic force microscope cantilever and submerged superhydrophobic surfaces. In addition, forces between macroscopic bubbles (R = 1.2 mm) at the end of capillaries and superhydrophobic surfaces were measured. As superhydrophobic surfaces we applied soot-templated surfaces, nanofilament surfaces, micropillar arrays with flat top faces, and decorated micropillars. Depending on the specific structure of the superhydrophobic surfaces and the presence and amount of entrapped air, different interactions were observed. Soot-templated surfaces in the Cassie state showed superaerophilic behavior: Once the electrostatic double-layer force and a hydrodynamic repulsion were overcome, bubbles jumped onto the surface and fully merged with the entrapped air. On nanofilaments and micropillar arrays we observed in addition the formation of sessile bubbles with finite contact angles below 90° or the attachment of bubbles, which retained their spherical shape.