Wetting articles within Nature

Featured

  • Article |

    An air purification strategy is presented that moves air in the form of bubbles through an ion-doped conjugated polymer-coated matrix, which captures larger particulate matter, infiltrated with a selected functional liquid, which captures smaller particulate matter.

    • Yunmao Zhang
    • , Yuhang Han
    •  & Xu Hou

  • Article |

    Water-repellent nanostructures are housed within an interconnected microstructure frame to yield mechanically robust superhydrophobic surfaces.

    • Dehui Wang
    • , Qiangqiang Sun
    •  & Xu Deng

  • Article |

    Layered nanocomposites fabricated using a continuous and scalable process achieve properties exceeding those of natural nacre, the result of stiffened matrix polymer chains confined between highly aligned nanosheets.

    • Chuangqi Zhao
    • , Pengchao Zhang
    •  & Lei Jiang

  • Letter |

    Droplets of mixed water and propylene glycol deposited on clean glass exhibit a contact angle but do not suffer from contact line pinning; their motion can be controlled by the vapour emitted from neighbouring droplets to create a variety of autonomous fluidic machines with integrated sensing and motility capabilities.

    • N. J. Cira
    • , A. Benusiglio
    •  & M. Prakash

  • Letter |

    Micrometre-sized particles covered with stiff, nanoscale spikes are shown to exhibit long-term colloidal stability in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic media, without the need for chemical coating, owing to the effect of the spikes on the contact area and, consequently, the force between the particles.

    • Joong Hwan Bahng
    • , Bongjun Yeom
    •  & Nicholas Kotov

  • News & Views |

    Membranes have been made that are hygro-responsive — their wetting properties change when immersed in water. This striking property allows the membrane to separate emulsions into their oil and water constituents.

    • Robert W. Field

  • News & Views |

    The slick interior of the pitcher plant has inspired a slippery material possessing self-lubricating, self-cleaning and self-healing properties. The secret is to infuse a porous material with a liquid that repels oils and water. See Letter p.443

    • Michael Nosonovsky

  • Letter |

    Many plants and animals make use of biological surfaces with structural features at the micro- and nanometre-scale that control the interaction with water. The appearance of dew drops on spider webs is an illustration of how they are one such material capable of efficiently collecting water from air. The water-collecting ability of the capture silk of the Uloborus walckenaerius spider is now shown to be the result of a unique fibre structure that forms after wetting.

    • Yongmei Zheng
    • , Hao Bai
    •  & Lei Jiang

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