Showing papers by "Sung Hoon Kang published in 2011"

Bioinspired self-repairing slippery surfaces with pressure-stable omniphobicity

Abstract: Inspired by the insect-eating Nepenthes pitcher plant, which snares its prey on a surface lubricated by a remarkably slippery aqueous secretion, Joanna Aizenberg and colleagues have synthesized omniphobic surfaces that can self-repair and function at high pressures. Their 'slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces' (or SLIPS) exhibit almost perfect slipperiness towards polar, organic and complex liquids. SLIPS function under extreme conditions, are easily constructed from inexpensive materials and can be endowed with other useful characteristics, such as enhanced optical transparency, through the selection of appropriate substrates and lubricants. Ultra-slippery surfaces of this type might find application in biomedical fluid handling, fuel transport, antifouling, anti-icing, optical imaging and elsewhere. Creating a robust synthetic surface that repels various liquids would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from biomedical devices and fuel transport to architecture but has proved extremely challenging1. Inspirations from natural nonwetting structures2,3,4,5,6, particularly the leaves of the lotus, have led to the development of liquid-repellent microtextured surfaces that rely on the formation of a stable air–liquid interface7,8,9. Despite over a decade of intense research, these surfaces are, however, still plagued with problems that restrict their practical applications: limited oleophobicity with high contact angle hysteresis9, failure under pressure10,11,12 and upon physical damage1,7,11, inability to self-heal and high production cost1,11. To address these challenges, here we report a strategy to create self-healing, slippery liquid-infused porous surface(s) (SLIPS) with exceptional liquid- and ice-repellency, pressure stability and enhanced optical transparency. Our approach—inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants13—is conceptually different from the lotus effect, because we use nano/microstructured substrates to lock in place the infused lubricating fluid. We define the requirements for which the lubricant forms a stable, defect-free and inert ‘slippery’ interface. This surface outperforms its natural counterparts2,3,4,5,6 and state-of-the-art synthetic liquid-repellent surfaces8,9,14,15,16 in its capability to repel various simple and complex liquids (water, hydrocarbons, crude oil and blood), maintain low contact angle hysteresis (<2.5°), quickly restore liquid-repellency after physical damage (within 0.1–1 s), resist ice adhesion, and function at high pressures (up to about 680 atm). We show that these properties are insensitive to the precise geometry of the underlying substrate, making our approach applicable to various inexpensive, low-surface-energy structured materials (such as porous Teflon membrane). We envision that these slippery surfaces will be useful in fluid handling and transportation, optical sensing, medicine, and as self-cleaning and anti-fouling materials operating in extreme environments.

Patterning the Tips of Optical Fibers with Metallic Nanostructures Using Nanoskiving

Abstract: Convenient and inexpensive methods to pattern the facets of optical fibers with metallic nanostructures would enable many applications. This communication reports a method to generate and transfer arrays of metallic nanostructures to the cleaved facets of optical fibers.Theprocessreliesonnanoskiving,inwhichanultramicrotome,equippedwith a diamond knife, sections epoxy nanostructures coated with thin metallic films and embedded in a block of epoxy. Sectioning produces arrays of nanostructures embedded in thin epoxy slabs, which can be transferred manually to the tips of optical fibers at a rate of approximately 2 min -1 , with 88% yield. Etching the epoxy matrices leaves arrays of nanostructures supported directly by the facets of the optical fibers. Examples of structures transferredincludegoldcrescents,rings,high-aspect-ratioconcentriccylinders,andgratings of parallel nanowires.

Meniscus Lithography: Evaporation-Induced Self-Organization of Pillar Arrays into Moiré Patterns

Abstract: We demonstrate a self-organizing system that generates patterns by dynamic feedback: two periodic surfaces collectively structure an intervening liquid sandwiched between them, which then reconfigures the original surface features into moire patterns as it evaporates. Like the conventional moire phenomenon, the patterns are deterministic and tunable by mismatch angle, yet additional behaviors-chirality from achiral starting motifs and preservation of the patterns after the surfaces are separated-emerge uniquely from the feedback process. Patterning menisci based on this principle provides a simple, scalable approach for making a series of complex, long-range-ordered structures.

Mechanism of nanostructure movement under an electron beam and its application in patterning

Abstract: In electron microscopy, the motion of the sample features due to the interaction with the electron beam has been traditionally regarded as a detrimental effect. Uncontrolled feature displacement produces artifacts both in imaging and patterning, limiting the resolution and distorting precise nanoscale patterns. The mechanism of such motion remains largely unclear. We present an experimental study of e-beam-induced nanopost movement and offer a mechanistic theoretical model that quantitatively explains the physical phenomenon. We propose that e-beam bombardment produces an uneven distribution of electrons in the sample, and the resulting electrostatic interactions provide forces and torques sufficient to bend the nanoposts. We compare the theoretical predictions with a series of controlled experiments that support our model. We take advantage of this theoretical understanding to demonstrate how this generally undesirable effect can be turned into an unconventional e-beam writing technique to generate pseudo-three-dimensional structures.