Nature–Inspired self–cleaning surfaces: Mechanisms, modelling, and manufacturing
Journal article, 2020

Nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces have attracted considerable attention from both fundamental research and practical applications. This review adopts a chemical-engineering point of view and focuses on mechanisms, modelling, and manufacturing (M3) of nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces. We will introduce six nature-inspired self-cleaning mechanisms: The Lotus-effect, superhydrophobic-induced droplet jumping, superhydrophobic-induced unidirectional movement of water droplet, underwater-superoleophobic-based self-cleaning, slippery-based self-cleaning, and dry self-cleaning. These mechanisms of nature self-cleaning examples are popular and well-known as well as have been widely applied or exhibited potential applications in our daily life and industrial productions. The mathematical and numerical modelling of the identified self-cleaning mechanisms will be carefully introduced, which will contribute to the rational design and reproducible construction of these functional self-cleaning surfaces. Finally, we will discuss how these materials can be produced, with a focus on scalable manufacturing. We hope this review will strengthen the understanding on nature-inspired self-cleaning surfaces and stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration of material science, biology and engineering.

Repellent

Fundamentals

Bio-inspired

Simulations

Scalable production

Author

Cunming Yu

Beihang University

Aalto University

Srdjan Sasic

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Fluid Dynamics

Kai Liu

Aalto University

Samir Salameh

Delft University of Technology

Saint-Gobain Herzogenrath Research Center

Robin H.A. Ras

Aalto University

J. Ruud van Ommen

Delft University of Technology

Chemical Engineering Research and Design

0263-8762 (ISSN) 1744-3563 (eISSN)

Vol. 155 48-65

Subject Categories

Polymer Technologies

Other Materials Engineering

Medical Materials

DOI

10.1016/j.cherd.2019.11.038

More information

Latest update

3/10/2020