can actively uptake water and transport cooling lubricant from foot to mouthpart in a relatively static posture. [2] Similarly, the Pitcher plant is able to transport lubricant inside out, resulting in a smooth and slippery peristome for trapping insects. [3] The natural lives have evolved to obtain such unique ability to induce directional liquid transport to simplify and improve nutrition intake processes. Nature always enlightens us to develop advanced materials to innovate and optimize artificial systems. [4] In the last decade, bio-inspired fluid manipulating interfaces have been widely reported and applied in the field of heat transfer, [5] heterogeneous catalysis, [6] smart fabric/membrane, [7] etc. Surface wettability, micro-/nano-structure, and geometric shape can effectively determine the fluid transporting processes in accordance with the asymmetric surface tension. [8] The directional fluid transport on such surfaces can be controlled by both the asymmetric structure itself and the external factors such as magnetic field, [9] electric field, [10] and mechanical stimuli. [11] With respect to the spontaneous and the directional fluid transport, the manipulating processes can be briefly classified into three examples, including (1) the lizard skin-like unidirectional liquid spreading, [12] (2) the cactus spineinspired self-propelled droplet directional motion, [13] and (3) the unidirectional liquid penetration of fluid diode. [14] Although the advantages of fluid-controlling surfaces have been validated in the lab, the practical application of such interfaces still brought back challenges, mainly because of (1) insufficient transporting distance for self-propelled droplet motion, (2) relatively low speed and capacity of liquid spreading, and (3) lack of continuity, adaptability, and integratability.To overcome the drawbacks of directional fluid transporting interfaces, superhydrophilic substrates possessing ultra-strong water affinity can be a good choice for developing the platform with high speed, large capacity, and long-distance liquid delivery. [15] Unlike the superhydrophobic and gradient surfaces, liquids would rapidly spread on superhydrophilic surfaces in a matter of micro-seconds due to the considerable capillary force from the nanostructures. [16] Moreover, liquid resistance on the wetted superhydrophilic surface is negligible due to the ultralow contact angle hysteresis, which is favorable in design to form a continuous and spontaneous liquid channel. In previous reports, the directionality of ultrafast liquid spreading of superhydrophilic surface can be regulated by the wettability Manipulating fluid with an open channel provides a promising strategy to simplify the current systems. Nevertheless, spontaneous on-surface fluid transport with large flux, high speed, and long distance remains challenging. Inspired by scallop shells, here a shell-like superhydrophilic origami (S-SLO) with multiple-paratactic and dual-asymmetric channels is presented to improve fluid collection. The ori...
Designing advanced interfacial materials is decisive to the improvement of multiphase systems. Inspired by the superior floatability of Pistia stratiotes, here we present a superhydrophobic/hydrophilic 3D Janus floater possessing a...
The hydrophilic/hydrophobic cooperative interface provides a smart platform to control liquid distribution and delivery. Through the fusion of flexibility and complex structure, we present a manipulable, open, and dual-layered liquid channel (MODLC) for on-demand mechanical control of fluid delivery. Driven by anisotropic Laplace pressure, the mechano-controllable asymmetric channel of MODLC can propel the directional slipping of liquid located between the paired tracks. Upon a single press, the longest transport distance can reach 10 cm with an average speed of ∼3 cm/s. The liquid on the MODLC can be immediately manipulated by pressing or dragging processes, and versatile liquid-manipulating processes on hierarchical MODLC chips have been achieved, including remote droplet magneto-control, continuous liquid distributor, and gas-producing chip. The flexible hydrophilic/hydrophobic interface and its assembly can extend the function and applications of the wettability-patterned interface, which should update our understanding of complex systems for sophisticated liquid transport.
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