Anti-icing superhydrophobic surfaces have been a key research topic due to their potential application value in aviation, telecommunication, energy, etc. However, superhydrophobicity is easily lost during icing & melting cycles, where the water-repellent Cassie-Baxter state turns to the sticky Wenzel state. The reversible transition during icing & melting cycle without external assistance is challenging but vital for reliable anti-icing superhydrophobic performance, such a topic has rarely been reported. Here we demonstrate a spontaneous Wenzel to Cassie-Baxter dewetting transition during icing & melting cycle on well-designed superhydrophobic surfaces. Bubbles in ice droplets rapidly impact the micro-nano valleys under Marangoni force, prompting the continuous recovery of air pockets during melting processes. We establish models to confirm the bubbles movement broadens the dewetting conditions greatly and present three criteria for the dewetting transitions. This research deepens the understanding of wettability theory and extends the design of anti-icing superhydrophobic surfaces.
Natural musculoskeletal systems have been widely recognized as an advanced robotic model for designing robust yet flexible microbots. However, the development of artificial musculoskeletal systems at micro-nanoscale currently remains a big challenge, since it requires precise assembly of two or more materials of distinct properties into complex 3D micro/nanostructures. In this study, we report femtosecond laser programmed artificial musculoskeletal systems for prototyping 3D microbots, using relatively stiff SU-8 as the skeleton and pH-responsive protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA) as the smart muscle. To realize the programmable integration of the two materials into a 3D configuration, a successive on-chip two-photon polymerization (TPP) strategy that enables structuring two photosensitive materials sequentially within a predesigned configuration was proposed. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate a pH-responsive spider microbot and a 3D smart micro-gripper that enables controllable grabbing and releasing. Our strategy provides a universal protocol for directly printing 3D microbots composed of multiple materials.
Compound eyes are natural multiaperture optical imaging systems and have substantial potential in the field of modern optics. However, both natural and artificial compound eyes are composed of ommatidia with fixed focal lengths, and thus incapable of variable‐focus imaging. In this study, inspired by the tunable crystalline lens of human eyes, smart stimuli‐responsive compound eyes based on the bovine serum album (BSA) protein are fabricated via femtosecond laser direct writing. Due to the swelling and shrinking effect of BSA under different pH conditions, a tunable field of view (FOV, 35°–80°) and variable focal length of ommatidia are achieved. In addition to the direct prototyping of an entire protein‐based compound eye, the ability to flexibly integrate the smart protein ommatidia with a conventional optical lens (an SU‐8 lens in this study) to form a composite compound eye is shown. The composite compound eye achieves nearly 400% of focal length tuning at a fixed FOV. It is anticipated that femtosecond laser fabrication and the integration of smart protein‐based compound eyes may emerge as an enabler for fabricating miniature tunable imaging systems.
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