Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Biomaterials

Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Synthetic springtail

by Craig Bettenhausen
September 15, 2018

 

A micrograph of a surface that is both wrinkled and knobby.
A tryptic of a sprintail and two sequentially closer-up micrographs of it's surface.

Next to nothing sticks to the springtail (bottom left), a harmless jumping hexpod (not technically an insect) about the size of the numbers on the face of a penny. Scientists studying the critters discovered that this “omniophobicity” results from two levels of microscopic features on their surface (bottom center and right). The outer surface is covered with 2-µm bumps, which are in turn covered by 200-nm features that resemble a peg with a four-legged cap. This nanosized texture traps air, preventing liquids from fully reaching the surface. As a result, the liquids don’t stick. To replicate the effect on a synthetic surface, Hee-Tae Jung, Geun-Tae Yun and coworkers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology used a variety of lithographic techniques to cover a polystyrene surface with “serif-T” shaped islands, then wrinkled the surface by heat-shrinking the polystyrene. The resulting material (top) repelled water, ethanol, and ethylene glycol even when the liquids hit the surface at high velocity.

Read the full report here: Sci. Adv. 2018, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat4978

Credit: Science Advances/B. Valentine


Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.


Related C&EN Content:

How to create materials that mimic Mother Nature

Antifreeze Proteins Help Snow Fleas Get Through Winter

Quick Chemical Trick Makes Surfaces Slick 

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.