Superhydrophobic micro-scale artificial hairs with eggbeater heads inspired by Salvinia molesta leaf was designed and fabricated by the Immersed surface accumulation (ISA) printing process.
The artificial eggbeater structure, made with a hydrophilic material, shows remarkable superhydrophobic property and petal effect. The superhydrophobic property is related to the number of eggbeater arms and the gap distance between each hair. The waterdroplet control of our 3D-printed microstructure indicates various potential applications in biomedical engineering and microfluidic devices. It opens intriguing perspectives for designing artificial surfaces on the basis of eggbeater structure to form a superhydrophobic surface. (Link)
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