Multibioinspired Wettable Patterned Slippery Surface for Efficient Water Harvesting

Abstract

Abstract It is highly desirable to endow surfaces with both exceptional droplet nucleation and removal capacities for water harvesting, but which still remains great challenges. Inspired by the water collection features of desert beetles and Nepenthes pitcher, this paper presents a facile and simple strategy to fabricate a wettable patterned slippery surface (WPSS). Different from desert beetles‐inspired water harvesting materials which the (super) hydrophilic bumps are constructed on a (super) hydrophobic background, the patterned hydrophilic CuO bumps in this study are surrounded by the silicone oil layer. Owing to the patterned hydrophilic bumps and slippery interface, as well as the flexibility in manipulating the relative ratio between them, the innovated WPSS is capable of rapidly nucleating and removing water droplets. It outperforms conventional liquid‐repellent surfaces in water harvesting performance.