title: Biomimetic "water strider leg" with highly refined nanogroove structure and remarkable water-repellent performance.
abstract: The water strider is a wonderful case that we can learn from nature to understand how to stride on the water surface. Inspired by the unique hierarchical micro/nanostructure of the water strider leg, in this article, we designed and fabricated an artificial strider leg with refined nanogroove structure by using an electrospinning and sacrificial template method. A model water strider that was equipped with four artificial legs showed remarkable water-repellent performance; namely, it could carry a load that was about 7 times heavier than its own weight. Characterization demonstrated that, even though the artificial leg did not possess a superhydrophobic surface, the numerous nanogrooves could still provide a huge supporting force for the man-made model strider. This work enlightens the development of artificial water-walking devices for exploring and monitoring the surface of water. Because of the advances of the applied materials, the devices may fulfill tasks in a harsh aquatic environment.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Juntao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D032701:Biomimetics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D020062:Heteroptera; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: biomimetic; electrospinning; nanogroove surface; water strider leg; water-repellent performance