In nature, fluid manipulation plays a crucial role in the life of organisms, which has attracted great attentions of research and industry. Here, a functional bionic cilia surface is designed via the simple magnetic field assistance and laser etching technique. Multidirectional droplet transportation occurs on superhydrophobic cilia surface, which has good mechanical, physical, and chemical stability. The as‐prepared surface covered with cilia in the superhydrophobic (WCA of 156 ± 2°) and hydrophobic (WCA of 119 ± 3°) area possess different adhesion state, which can be used for multiple chemical reactions as a microreaction platform. Furthermore, bionic cilia surface can be used as a transport tool in the analysis and detection with average transfer speed of 2.3 cm s−1, which provides new opportunities in the development of small analysis equipment. Importantly, magnetically induced bionic cilia surfaces have broad potential applications in developing smart surfaces, droplet control, lab‐on‐a‐chip, etc.
In order to satisfy the needs of different applications and more complex intelligent devices, smart control of surface wettability will be necessary and desirable, which gradually become a hot spot and focus in the field of interface wetting. Herein, we review interfacial wetting states related to switchable wettability on superwettable materials, including several classical wetting models and liquid adhesive behaviors based on the surface of natural creatures with special wettability. This review mainly focuses on the recent developments of the smart surfaces with switchable wettability and the corresponding regulatory mechanisms under external stimuli, which is mainly governed by the transformation of surface chemical composition and geometrical structures. Among that, various external stimuli such as physical stimulation (temperature, light, electric, magnetic, mechanical stress), chemical stimulation (pH, ion, solvent) and dual or multi-triggered stimulation have been sought out to realize the regulation of surface wettability. Moreover, we also summarize the applications of smart surfaces in different fields, such as oil/water separation, programmable transportation, anti-biofouling, detection and delivery, smart soft robotic etc. Furthermore, current limitations and future perspective in the development of smart wetting surfaces are also given. This review aims to offer deep insights into the recent developments and responsive mechanisms in smart biomimetic surfaces with switchable wettability under external various stimuli, so as to provide a guidance for the design of smart surfaces and expand the scope of both fundamental research and practical applications.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.