title: Enhancing the effect of the nanofiber network structure on thermoresponsive wettability switching.
abstract: This letter reports the enhancing effects of a nanofiber network structure on stimuli-responsive wettability switching. Thermoresponsive coatings composed of nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning from thermoresponsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). The nanofiber coatings showed a large amplitude of thermoresponsive change in the wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic states compared to a smooth cast film. In particular, the combination of the surface chemistry and unique topology of the electrospun nanofiber coatings enables a transition from the Wenzel state to the metastable Cassie-Baxter state with an increase in temperature and consequently an enhanced amplitude of change in the water contact angles: the apparent contact angle differences between 25 and 50 °C are Δθ*(25-50 °C )= 108 and 10° for the nanofiber coatings with a diameter of 830 nm and a smooth cast film, respectively. The fabrication of the 3D nanofiber network structure by electrospinning from stimuli-responsive materials is a promising option for highly responsive surfaces in wettability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-S8-27 Ookayama, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Konosu
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuboi
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minagawa
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanioka