Reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity on the superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh for controlling underwater bubble wettability

Abstract

Reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity on the superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh for controlling underwater bubble wettability Controlling the underwater bubble wettability on a solid surface is of great research significance. In this letter, a simple method to achieve reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and underwater superaerophobicity on a superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh by alternately vacuumizing treatment in water and drying in air is reported. Such reversible switch endows the as-prepared mesh with many functional applications in controlling bubble's behavior on a solid substrate. The underwater superaerophilic mesh is able to absorb/capture bubbles in water, while the superaerophobic mesh has great anti-bubble ability. The reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity can selectively allow bubbles to go through the resultant mesh; that is, bubbles can pass through the underwater superaerophilic mesh while are fully intercepted by the underwater superaerophobic mesh in a water medium. We believe these meshes will have important applications in removing or capturing underwater bubbles/gas. © 2018 Author (s)

A review of femtosecond laser-structured superhydrophobic or underwater superoleophobic porous surfaces/materials for efficient oil/water separation

“…[56][57][58][59] Surface wettability of a solid substrate is mainly determined by the surface microstructure and chemical composition of the material surface. 70,107,111,112,[155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165] The outstanding features of fs laser microfabrication make this technology have great success in designing wettability of solid materials. [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]61,[73][74][75][76][77]152,[166][167][168][169][170][171] Compared to the common methods for achieving superhydrophobicity and underwater superoleophobicity, fs laser microfabrication has some particularly special aspects.…”

Tunable Wettability Pattern Transfer Photothermally Achieved on Zinc with Microholes Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser

“…However, the fixed wettability surface cannot satisfy the needs of a functional surface. Tunable wettability surfaces play an important role in regulating the surface behavior of liquids, which can be used for printing [ 3 ], droplet transfer [ 4 ], microfluidic systems [ 5 ], oil-water separation [ 6 , 7 ], and underwater gas collection [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Picosecond Laser-Textured Stainless Steel Superhydrophobic Surface with an Antibacterial Adhesion Property

“…When the sample is exposed to the air and tilted by 0.5°, as shown in Figure a, water droplet on the superhydrophobic surface will roll a distance of 1.5 mm within 80 ms, the dynamic rolling behavior of which manifests the excellent hydrophobicity of the prepared surface in the air. When the same sample is immersed in the water, as shown in Figure b, the superhydrophobic surface captures air bubbles and traps an air layer between crevices to prevent water of penetration, which exhibits the superaerophilicity property underwater. , In addition, the time of an air bubble trapped on the superhydrophobic surface spreading to form a uniform air layer is within 30 ms. On the contrary, the just polished surface and the laser-textured superhydrophilic surface exhibits the superhydrophilic property underwater, that is, on which water droplets seep fully into the superficial cracks in the air while no air layer forms underwater.…”