Unraveling the Salvinia paradox: design principles for submerged superhydrophobicity

TL;DR

This paper investigates the natural design of Salvinia molesta's structure using molecular dynamics simulations, revealing how patterning and geometry control bubble behavior, leading to principles for engineering submerged superhydrophobic surfaces.

Contribution

It translates natural Salvinia structures into macroscopic design principles for creating durable submerged superhydrophobic materials.

Findings

Patterning and geometry control bubble nucleation and transition.

Natural paradigm informs engineering design.

Provides criteria for robust submerged superhydrophobicity.

Abstract

The complex structure of the Salvinia molesta is investigated via rare event molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that a hydrophilic/hydrophobic patterning together with a re-entrant geometry control the free energy barriers for bubble nucleation and for the Cassie-Wenzel transition. This natural paradigm is translated into simple macroscopic design criteria for engineering robust superhydrophobicity in submerged applications.