Person:

Kang, Sung

This paper describes the fabrication of arrays of nanostructures (rings, crescents, counterfacing split rings, cylinders, coaxial cylinders, and other structures) by a four-step process: (i) molding an array of epoxy posts by soft lithography, (ii) depositing thin films on the posts, (iii) embedding the posts in epoxy, and (iv) sectioning in a plane parallel to the plane defined by the array of posts, into slabs, with an ultramicrotome (“nanoskiving”). This work demonstrates the combination of four capabilities: (i) formation of structures that are submicrometer in all dimensions; (ii) fabrication of 3D structures, and arrays of structures, with gradients of height; (iii) patterning of arrays containing two or more materials, including metals, semiconductors, oxides, and polymers; and (iv) generation of as many as 60 consecutive slabs bearing contiguous arrays of nanostructures. These arrays can be transferred to different substrates, and arrays of gold rings exhibit plasmonic resonances in the range of wavelengths spanning 2−5 μm.

Creating a robust synthetic surface that repels various liquids would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from biomedical devices and fuel transport to architecture but has proved extremely challenging. Inspirations from natural nonwetting structures particularly the leaves of the lotus, have led to the development of liquid-repellent microtextured surfaces that rely on the formation of a stable air–liquid interface. Despite over a decade of intense research, these surfaces are, however, still plagued with problems that restrict their practical applications: limited oleophobicity with high contact angle hysteresis, failure under pressure and upon physical damage inability to self-heal and high production cost. To address these challenges, here we report a strategy to create self-healing, slippery liquid-infused porous surface(s) (SLIPS) with exceptional liquid- and ice-repellency, pressure stability and enhanced optical transparency. Our approach—inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants—is conceptually different from the lotus effect, because we use nano/microstructured substrates to lock in place the infused lubricating fluid. We define the requirements for which the lubricant forms a stable, defect-free and inert ‘slippery’ interface. This surface outperforms its natural counterparts and state-of-the-art synthetic liquid-repellent surfaces in its capability to repel various simple and complex liquids (water, hydrocarbons, crude oil and blood), maintain low contact angle hysteresis (<2.5°), quickly restore liquid-repellency after physical damage (within 0.1–1 s), resist ice adhesion, and function at high pressures (up to about 680 atm). We show that these properties are insensitive to the precise geometry of the underlying substrate, making our approach applicable to various inexpensive, low-surface-energy structured materials (such as porous Teflon membrane). We envision that these slippery surfaces will be useful in fluid handling and transportation, optical sensing, medicine, and as self-cleaning and anti-fouling materials operating in extreme environments.

Control of self-organization of nanofibers into regular clusters upon evaporation-induced assembly is receiving increasing attention due to the potential importance of this process in a range of applications including particle trapping, adhesives, and structural color. Here we present a comprehensive study of this phenomenon using a periodic array of polymeric nanopillars with tunable parameters as a model system to study how geometry, mechanical properties, as well as surface properties influence capillary-induced self-organization. In particular, we show that varying the parameters of the building blocks of self-assembly provides us with a simple means of controlling the size, chirality, and anisotropy of complex structures. We observe that chiral assemblies can be generated within a narrow window for each parameter even in the absence of chiral building blocks or a chiral environment. Furthermore, introducing anisotropy in the building blocks provides a way to control both the chirality and the size of the assembly. While capillary-induced self-assembly has been studied and modeled as a quasi-static process involving the competition between only capillary and elastic forces, our results unequivocally show that both adhesion and kinetics are equally important in determining the final assembly. Our findings provide insight into how multiple parameters work together in capillary-induced self-assembly and provide us with a diverse set of options for fabricating a variety of nanostructures by self-assembly.