A simple two-step plasmachemical methodology is outlined for the fabrication of microcondensor surfaces. This comprises the creation of a superhydrophobic background followed by pulsed plasma deposition of a hydrophilic polymer array. Microcondensation efficiency has been explored in terms of the chemical nature of the hydrophilic pixels and their dimensions. These results are compared to the hydrophilic-hydrophobic pattern present on the Stenocara beetle's back, which is used by the insect to collect water in the desert. Potential applications include fog harvesting, microfluidics, and biomolecule immobilization.

Plasma fluorination followed by cross-linking of polybutadiene films gives rise to the formation of hard super-hydrophobic surfaces. The combined effect of low surface energy and substrate roughness is found to underpin the observed liquid repellency behavior.

Conventional fog-harvesting mechanisms are effectively pseudo-2D surface phenomena in terms of water droplet-plant interactions. In the case of the Cotula fallax plant, a unique hierarchical 3D arrangement formed by its leaves and the fine hairs covering them has been found to underpin the collection and retention of water droplets on the foliage for extended periods of time. The mechanisms of water capture and release as a function of the surface 3D structure and chemistry have been identified. Of particular note is that water is retained throughout the entirety of the plant and held within the foliage itself (rather than in localized regions). Individual plant hairs form matlike structures capable of supporting water droplets; these hairs wrap around water droplets in a 3D fashion to secure them via a fine nanoscale groove structure that prevents them from easily falling to the ground.

Ultrasonic atomization of acrylic acid monomer into an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) leads to the deposition of structurally well-defined polymeric films. High retention of the carboxylic acid group has been verified by XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. These films are found to exhibit low water contact angle values and display good adhesive and gas barrier performance.

Thiol-terminated single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acids (ssDNA) can be immobilized onto pulsed plasma deposited poly(allylmercaptan) surfaces via disulfide bridge chemistry and are found to readily undergo nucleic acid hybridization. Unlike other methods for oligonucleotide attachment to solid surfaces, this approach is shown to be independent of substrate material or geometry, and amenable to highly efficient rewriting.

A simple method for growing polymer brushes by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) off solid surfaces has been devised. This entails pulsed plasmachemical deposition of a halogen-containing initiator layer, followed by either organic or aqueous phase controlled surface polymerization. The wide-scale applicability of this approach is exemplified by functionalizing flat substrates, microbeads, and nonwoven textiles.

Hydrophilic β-cyclodextrin barrels have been tethered to a hydrophobic pulsed plasma deposited poly(4-vinylbenzyl chloride) linker layer via the Williamson ether synthesis reaction to produce an amphiphilic system that spontaneously undergoes emulsion formation to give rise to a macroporous structure. Utilization of a nonwoven polypropylene scaffold (surface area 0.5 m 2 g −1 ) yields a hierarchical 3-level porous architecture comprising β-cyclodextrin nanopores (0.78 nm), gradient polyHIPE macroporosity (3 − 5 μm), and nonwoven fibres (250 μm spacing). These high-surface-area functional materials (672 m 2 g −1 ) are shown to readily "capture" probe molecules via host−guest inclusion complex formation with the surface-tethered cyclodextrin barrels. Subsequent "release" is accomplished by altering the pH. The repeat cycling of this "capture and release" behavior has been demonstrated to exceed 90% efficiency in relation to environmentally harmful water pollutant molecules commonly associated with industrial and agricultural effluents.

The impact of picoliter-sized water droplets on superhydrophobic CF(4) plasma fluorinated polybutadiene surfaces is investigated with high-speed imaging. Variation of the surface topography by plasmachemical modification enables the dynamics of wetting to be precisely controlled. Final spreading ratios as low as 0.63 can be achieved. A comparison of the maximum spreading ratio and droplet oscillation frequencies to models described in the literature shows that both are found to be much lower than theoretically predicted.