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Nanobubbles explain the large slip observed on lubricant-infused surfaces
Nature Communications, 2022

Vega-Sánchez, C; Peppou-Chapman, S; Zhu, L; Neto, C

Lubricant-infused surfaces hold promise to reduce the huge frictional drag that slows down the flow of fluids at microscales. We show that infused Teflon wrinkled surfaces induce an effective slip length 50 times larger than expected based on the presence of the lubricant alone. This effect is particularly striking as it occurs even when the infused lubricant’s viscosity is several times higher than that of the flowing liquid. Crucially, the slip length increases with increasing air content in the water but is much higher than expected even in degassed and plain Milli-Q water. Imaging directly the immersed interface using a mapping technique based on atomic force microscopy meniscus force measurements reveals that the mechanism responsible for this huge slip is the nucleation of surface nanobubbles. Using a numerical model and the height and distribution of these surface nanobubbles, we can quantitatively explain the large fluid slip observed in these surfaces.

Design Optimization of Perfluorinated Liquid-Infused Surfaces for Blood-Contacting Applications
Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2022

Hong, J. K; Mathur, K; Ruhoff, A. M; Akhavan, B; Waterhouse, A; Neto, C

Tethered-liquid perfluorocarbon (TLP) coatings show promise for blood-contacting medical device applications to reduce blood adhesion and delay thrombosis. However, their fabrication and longevity under external fluid flow is not well characterized. A vapor phase silanization reaction leading to the formation of tethered-perfluorocarbon (TP) layers containing large bumpy aggregates, 300 ± 200 nm thick, on top of an underlying 35 ± 15 nm thick uniform coating is reported. The vapor phase method compares favorably to the well-established liquid phase deposition to reproducibly create slippery coatings on silicon and polystyrene with very low water sliding angles (2° ± 1°), without the need to control humidity conditions. The combination of highly fluorinated TP coatings infused lubricant has the potential to reduce thrombosis in blood-contacting medical devices under flow.

By year

2022

  1. Vega-Sánchez, C; Peppou-Chapman, S; Zhu, L; Neto, C*; “Nanobubbles explain the large slip observed on lubricant-infused surfaces” Nature Comm.. 13, 351 (2022). DOI:10.1038/s41467-022-28016-1 Highlighted by the Editor, 26 Jan 2022.
  2. Hong, J. K; Mathur, K; Ruhoff, A. M; Akhavan, B; Waterhouse, A; Neto, C; “Design Optimization of Perfluorinated Liquid-Infused Surfaces for Blood-Contacting Applications” Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 2022, 2102214. (IF = 6.14) DOI:10.1002/admi.202102214

2021

  1. Vega-Sánchez, C; Neto, C; “Pressure Drop Measurements in Microfluidic Devices: A Review on the Accurate Quantification of Interfacial Slip”, Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 2101641, 2021. (IF = 6.14) with cover DOI:10.1002/admi.202101641
  2. Baeckens, S; Temmerman, M; Gorb S.N; Neto, C; Whiting, M.J; Van Damme, R; “Convergent evolution of skin surface microarchitecture and increased skin hydrophobicity in semi-aquatic anole lizards”. J Exp Biol. 224, 2021, DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02858 (IF = 3.312)
  3. Peppou-Chapman, S and Neto, C. Depletion of the lubricant from lubricant-infused surfaces due to an air/water interface Langmuir, 37, 3025-3037, 2021. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02858
  4. Fenati, R.A; Quinn, M.S; Bilinsky, H.C; and Neto, C. Antifouling Properties of Liquid-Infused Riblets Fabricated by Direct Contactless Microfabrication Advanced Engineering Materials, 23, (1), 2000905, 2021. DOI: 10.1002/adem.202000905
  5. Wang, Z; Owais, A; Neto, C; Pereira, J.M; and Gan, Y. Enhancing Spontaneous Droplet Motion on Structured Surfaces with Tailored Wedge Design Advanced Materials Interfaces, 8, (2), 2000520, 2021. DOI: 10.1002/admi.202000520
  6. Djerdjev, AM; Priyananda, P; Gore, J; Beattie, JK; Neto, C; and Hawkett, BS. Safer Emulsion Explosives Resulting from NOx Inhibition Chemical Engineering Journal, 403, 125713, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.125713

2020

  1. Hong, JK; Gao, L; Singh, J; Goh, T; Ruhoff, AM; Neto, C and Waterhouse A. Evaluating medical device and material thrombosis under flow: current and emerging technologies Biomaterials Science, 8, (21), 5824-5845, 2020. DOI: 10.1039/d0bm01284j
  2. Nguyen, D; Zhu, L; Huynh, VT; Azniwati, A; Pham, N; Lam, M; Serelis, AK; Davey, T; Such, C; Neto, C and Hawkett. BS. Soft-hard Janus nanoparticles for polymer encapsulation of solid particulate Polymer Chemistry, 11, (35), 5610-5618, 2020. DOI: 10.1039/d0py00845a
  3. Peppou-Chapman, S; Hong, JK; Waterhouse, A and Neto, C. Life and death of liquid-infused surfaces: A review on the choice, analysis and fate of the infused liquid layer Chemical Society Reviews, 49, (11), 3688-3715, 2020. DOI: 10.1039/d0cs00036a
  4. Scarratt, LRJ; Zhu, L and Neto, C. Large Effective Slip on Lubricated Surfaces Measured with Colloidal Probe AFM. Langmuir, 36, (21), 6033-6040, 2020. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b02935

2019

  1. O’Reilly, C; Motion, A; and Neto, C. Looking Thru the Nano Lens: Art, Science and Nature. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 27, (7), 23-33, 2019.
  2. Katselas, A; Motion, A; O’Reilly, C and Neto, C. Chemical Curiosity on Campus: An Undergraduate Project on the Structure and Wettability of Natural Surfaces. Journal of Chemical Education, 96, (9), 1998-2002, 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00324
  3. Owais, A; Djerdjev, AM; Hook, JM; Yuen, A; Rowlands, W; White, NG and Neto, C. Host-guest interactions of catechol and 4-ethylcatechol with surface-immobilized blue-box molecules. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 7, (20), 12713-12722, 2019. DOI: 10.1039/c9ta00556k
  4. Scarratt, LRJ; Zhu, L and Neto, C. How slippery are SLIPS? Measuring effective slip on lubricated surfaces with colloidal probe atomic force microscopy. Langmuir, 35 (8), 2976-2982, 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03767
  5. Colusso, E; Martucci, A and Neto, C. Fabrication of biomimetic micropatterned surfaces by sol-gel dewetting. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 6 (4), 1801629, 2019. DOI: 10.1002/admi.201801629
  6. Tonelli, M; Peppou-Chapman, S; Ridi, F and Neto, C. Effect of pore size, lubricant viscosity, and distribution on the slippery properties of infused cement surfaces. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 123 (5), 2987-2995, 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b11221
  7. Shou, K; Hong, JK; Wood, ES; Hook, JM; Nelson, A; Yin, Y; Andersson, GG; Abate, A; Steiner, U and Neto, C. Ultralow surface energy self-assembled monolayers of iodo-perfluorinated alkanes on silica driven by halogen bonding. Nanoscale, 11 (5), 2401-2411, 2019. DOI: 10.1039/c8nr08195f
  8. Vullers, F; Peppou-Chapman, S; Kavalenka, MN; Holscher, H and Neto, C. Effect of repeated immersions and contamination on plastron stability in superhydrophobic surfaces. Physics of Fluids, 31 (1), 012102, 2019. DOI: 10.1063/1.5064817

2018

  1. Peppou-Chapman, S and Neto, C. Mapping depletion of lubricant films on antibiofouling wrinkled slippery surfaces. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10 (39), 33669-33677, 2018. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b11768
  2. Owais, A; Smith-Palmer, T; Gentle, A and Neto, C. Influence of long-range forces and capillarity on the function of underwater superoleophobic wrinkled surfaces. Soft Matter, 14 (32), 6627-6634, 2018. DOI: 10.1039/c8sm00709h
  3. Chiu, M; Wood, JA; Widmer-Cooper, A and Neto, C. Aligned droplet patterns by dewetting of polymer bilayers. Macromolecules, 51 (15), 5485-5493, 2018. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b00620
  4. Ware, CS; Smith-Palmer, T; Peppou-Chapman, S; Scarratt, LRJ; Humphries, EM; Balzer, D and Neto, C. Marine antifouling behavior of lubricant-infused nanowrinkled polymeric surfaces. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10 (4), 4173-4182, 2018. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b14736
  5. Djerdjev, AM; Priyananda, P; Gore, J; Beattie, JK; Neto, C and Hawkett, BS. The mechanism of the spontaneous detonation of ammonium nitrate in reactive grounds. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 6 (10), 281-288, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2017.12.003

2017

  1. Gao, N; Chiu, M and Neto, C. Receding contact line motion on nanopatterned and micropatterned polymer surfaces. Langmuir, 33 (44), 12602-12608, 2017. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03100
  2. Zhu, L; Nguyen, D; Davey, T; Baker, M; Such, C; Hawkett, BS and Neto, C. Mechanical properties of Ropaque hollow nanoparticles. Polymer, 131, 10-16, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2017.10.030
  3. Telford, AM; Thickett, SC and Neto, C. Functional patterned coatings by thin polymer film dewetting. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 507, 453-469, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.07.004
  4. Scarratt, LRJ; Steiner, U and Neto, C. A review on the mechanical and thermodynamic robustness of superhydrophobic surfaces. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 246, 133-152, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2017.05.018
  5. Al-Khayat, O; Hong, JK; Beck, DM; Minett, AI and Neto, C. Patterned polymer coatings increase the efficiency of dew harvesting. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 9 (15), 13676-13684, 2016. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b16248

2016

  1. Al-Khayat, O; Hong, JK; Geraghty, K and Neto, C. “The good, the bad, and the slippery”: A tale of three solvents in polymer film dewetting. Macromolecules, 49 (17), 6590-6598, 2016. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01579
  2. Rowe, M; Teo, GH; Horne, J; Al-Khayat, O; Neto, C and Thickett, SC. High glass transition temperature fluoropolymers for hydrophobic surface coatings via RAFT copolymerization. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 69 (7), 725-734, 2016. DOI: 10.1071/CH15787
  3. Scarratt, LRJ; Hoatson, BS; Wood, ES; Hawkett, BS and Neto, C. Durable superhydrophobic surfaces via spontaneous wrinkling of Teflon AF. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 8 (10), 6743-6750, 2016. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b12165
  4. Telford, AM; Easton, CD; Hawkett, BS and Neto, C. Waterborne, all-polymeric, colloidal ‘raspberry’ particles with controllable hydrophobicity and water droplet adhesion properties. Thin Solid Films, 603, 69-74, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2016.01.052
  5. Al-Khayat, O; Geraghty, K; Shou, K; Nelson, A and Neto, C. Chain collapse and interfacial slip ofpolystyrene films in good/nonsolvent vapor mixtures. Macromolecules, 49 (4), 1344-1352. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b02253
  6. Charrault, E; Lee, T; Easton, CD and Neto, C. Boundary flow on end-grafted PEG brushes. Soft Matter, 12 (6), 1906-1914. DOI: 10.1039/c5sm02546j

2015

  1. Wong, I; Teo, GH; Neto, C and Thickett, SC. Micropatterned surfaces for atmospheric water condensation via controlled radical polymerization and thin film dewetting. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 7 (38), 21562-21570, 2015. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b06856
  2. Ghezzi, M; Wang, P-Y; Kingshott, P and Neto, C. Guiding the dewetting of thin polymer films by colloidal imprinting. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2 (11), 1500068, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/admi.201500068
  3. Lee, T; Hendy, SC and Neto, C. Control of nanoparticle formation using the constrained dewetting of polymer brushes. Nanoscale, 7 (7), 2894-2899, 2015. DOI: 10.1039/c4nr07412b
  4. Priyananda, P; Djerdjev, AM; Gore, J; Neto, C; Beattie, JK and Hawkett, BS. Premature detonation of an NH4NO3 emulsion in reactive ground. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 283, 314-320, 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.08.070

2014

  1. Ghezzi, M; Thickett, SC; Telford, AM; Easton, CD; Meagher, L and Neto, C. Protein micropattersn by PEG grafting on dewetted PLGA films. Langmuir, 30 (39), 11714-11722, 2014. DOI: 10.1021/la5018592
  2. Lee, T; Charrault, E and Neto, C. Interfacial slip on rough, patterned and soft surfaces: A review of experiments and simulations. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 210, 21-38, 2014. DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2014.02.015

2013

  1. Telford, AM; Neto, C and Meagher, L. Robust grafting of PEG-methacrylate brushes from polymeric coatings. Polymer, 54 (21), 5490-5498, 2013. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2013.07.077
  2. Telford, AM; Hawkett, BS; Such, C and Neto, C. Mimicking the wettability of the rose petal using self-assembly of waterborne polymer particles. Chemistry of Materials, 25 (17), 3472-3479, 2013. DOI: 10.1021/cm4016386
  3. Telford, AM; Pham, BTT; Neto, C and Hawkett, BS. Micron-sized polymstyrene particles by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization in air: Synthesis and mechanism. Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 51 (19), 3997-4002, 2013. DOI: 10.1002/pola.26841
  4. Lee, T; Hendy, SC and Neto, C. Tunable nanopatterns via the constrained dewetting of polymer brushes. Macromolecules, 46 (15), 6326-6335, 2013. DOI: 10.1021/ma400593z
  5. Lim, SK; Perrier, S and Neto, C. Patterned chemisorption of proteins by thin polymer film dewetting. Soft Matter, 9 (9), 2598-2602, 2013. DOI: 10.1039/c3sm27241a

2012

  1. Thickett, SC; Moses, J; Gamble, JR and Neto, C. Micropatterned substrates made by polymer bilayer dewetting and collagen nanoscle assembly support endothelial cell adhesion. Soft Matter, 8 (39), 9996-10007, 2012. DOI: 10.1039/c2sm26557e
  2. Telford, AM; Meagher, L; Glattauer, V; Gengenbach, TR; Easton, CD and Neto, C. Micropatterning of polymer brushes: Grafting from dewetting polymer films for biological applications. Biomacromolecules, 13 (9), 2989-2996, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/bm3010534
  3. Lee, T; Hendy, SC and Neto, C. Interfacial flow of simple liquids on polymer brushes: Effect of solvent quality and grafting density. Macromolecules, 45 (15), 6241-6252, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/ma300880y
  4. Ghezzi, M; Thickett, SC and Neto, C. Early and intermediate stages of guided dewetting in polystyrene thin films. Langmuir, 28 (27), 10147-10151, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/la301773h
  5. Zhu, L; Attard, P and Neto, C. Reconciling slip measurements in symmetric and asymmetric systems. Langmuir, 28 (20), 7768-7774, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/la301040d
  6. Zhu, L; Neto, C and Attard, P. Reliable measurements of interfacial slip by colloid probe atomic force microscopy. III. Shear-rate-dependent slip. Langmuir, 28 (7), 3465-3473, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/la204566h

2011

  1. Telford, AM; Thickett, SC; James, M and Neto, C. Competition between dewetting and cross-linking in poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)/polystyrene biolayer films. Langmuir, 27 (23), 14207-14217, 2011. DOI: 10.1021/la2029577
  2. Thickett, SC; Neto, C and Harris, AT. Biomimetic surface coatings for atmospheric water capture prepared by dewetting of polymer films. Advanced Materials, 23 (32), 3718-3722, 2011. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201100290
  3. Zhu, L; Attard, P and Neto, C. Reliable measurements of interfacial slip by colloid probe atomic force microscopy. I. Mathematical modeling. Langmuir, 27 (11), 6701-6711, 2011. DOI: 10.1021/la2007809
  4. Zhu, L; Attard, P and Neto, C. Reliable measurements of interfacial slip by colloid probe atomic force microscopy. II. Hydrodynamic force measurements. Langmuir, 27 (11), 6712-6719, 2011. DOI: 10.1021/la104597d

2010

  1. Willmott, GR; Neto, C and Hendy, SC. Uptake of water droplets by non-wetting capillaries. Soft Matter, 7 (6), 2165-3024, 2011. DOI: 10.1039/c0sm00574f
  2. Thickett, SC; Harris, A and Neto, C. Interplay between dewetting and layer inversion in poly(4-vinylpyridine)/polystyrene bilayers. Langmuir, 26 (20), 15989-15999, 2010. DOI: 10.1021/la103078k
  3. Telford, AM; James, M; Meagher, L and Neto, C. Thermally cross-linked PNVP films as antifouling coatings for biomedical applications. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2 (8), 2399-2408, 2010. DOI: 10.1021/am100406j
  4. Willmott, GR; Neto, C and Hendy, SC. An experimental study of interactions between droplets and a nonwetting microfluidic capillary. Faraday Discussions, 146, 233-245, 2010. DOI: 10.1039/b925588e
  5. Joseph, KR and Neto, C. On the superhydrophobic properties of crystallized stearic acid. Aust. J. Chem., 63 (3), 525-528, 2010. DOI: 10.1071/CH09292
  6. Martelli, C; Canning, J; Khoury, T; Skivesen, N; Kristensen, M; Huyang, G; Jensen, P; Neto, C; Sum, TJ; Hovgaard, MB; Gibson, BC and Crossley, MJ. Self-assembled porphyrin microrods and observation of structure-induced iridescence. J. Mater. Chem., 20 (12), 2310-2316, 2010. DOI: 10.1039/b917695k
  7. Sriprom, W; Neto, C and Perrier, S. Rapid photochromic nanopatterns from block copolymers. [[Soft Matter, 6 (5), 909-914, 2010. DOI; 10.1039/b920133e

2009

  1. Huyang, G; Canning, J; Gibson, BC; Khoury, T; Sum, TJ; Neto, C and Crossley, MJ. Focused ion beam processing and engineering of devices in self-assembled supramolecular structures. Nanotechnology, 20 (48), 485301 (6pp), 2009. DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/20/48/485301
  2. Neto, C; Joseph, KR and Brant, WR. On the superhydrophobic properties of nickel nanocarpets. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 11 (41), 9537-9544, 2009. DOI: 10.1039/b909899b
  3. Sriprom, W; James, M; Perrier, S and Neto, C. Ordered microphase separation in thin films of PMMA-PBA synthesized by RAFT: Effect of block polydispersity. Macromolecules, 42 (8), 3138-3146, 2009. DOI: 10.1021/ma9004428
  4. Neto, C; James, M and Telford, AM. On the composition of the top layer of microphase separated thin PS-PEO films. Macromolecules, 42 (13), 4801-4808, 2009. DOI: 10.1021/ma900690e

Book chapters

  1. Duong, HTT; Nguyen, D; Neto, C and Hawkett, BS. Synthesis and applications of polymeric Janus nanoparticles. Book chapter in: Soft, Hard, and Hybrid Janus Structures. Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Applications. ISBN: 978-1-78634-314-7. Editors: Zhiqun Lin and Bo Li. Published by World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd, UK. Chapter 2, pp 31-67, 2018. DOI: 10.1142/9781786343130_0002