Simple Approach to Fabricate an Anisotropic Wetting Surface with High Adhesive Force toward Droplet Transfer AITranslate

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DOI：https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.1c00479

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An anisotropic wetting surface, a kind of functional surface with distinct direction-dependent wettability, shows significant applications in many aspects. In this work, an economical but facile method to fabricate a surface with anisotropic wettability and high adhesive force for droplet transfer is proposed, that is, thermoplastic high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/water-soluble polyethylene oxide (PEO) blend was first prepared via melt extrusion molding, resulting in a co-continuous but oriented HDPE microfibrillar network. Subsequently, a “slicing-leaching-freeze drying” method was employed to prepare the anisotropic wetting surface. The whole preparation process shows the merits of being low cost, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly. Furthermore, such an anisotropic wetting surface shows high adhesive force, which can be employed as a “mechanical arm” (i.e., a medium for microdroplet transportation) toward droplet transfer. Moreover, its potential applications in chemical microreactors and biological monitoring were further explored. This work will provide a facile but low-cost way to prepare an anisotropic wetting surface with high adhesive force.