Designing Flexible but Tough Slippery Track for Underwater Gas Manipulation

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 17; no. 8; pp. e2007803 - n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Xinsheng, Bai, Haoyu, Yang, Jingrun, Li, Zhe, Wu, Yuchen, Yu, Cunming, Jiang, Lei, Cao, Moyuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2021
• Subjects: Aqueous environments; assembled structure; bio‐inspiration; bubble generation; fluid control; Liquid bridges; Lubricants; Nanotechnology; slippery surface; Underwater; Water splitting; slippery surface; assembled structure; bio-inspiration; fluid control; bubble generation
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202007803

Lubricant‐infused slippery surface exhibits a series of superior properties such as pressure tolerance, self‐healing, oil‐repellence, etc. Especially when being applied in an aqueous environment, the reliable bubble manipulating ability of slippery surface offers great opportunities to develop advanced systems in the field of gas transport, water splitting, etc. To improve the strength and the functionality of slippery surfaces, a sliced lubricant‐infused slippery (SLIS) track is presented here, possessing both flexibility and toughness for underwater bubble manipulation. The rigid slippery slices with hydrophobic porous structure are linked by the liquid bridge of silicone oil, resulting in a continuous lubricant layer for bubble transfer. Taking advantage of this unique assembled structure, the in situ bubble controlling process, that is, pinning and moving, is achieved via the stretching/releasing of an elastic SLIS track. Besides, on the basis of the integrated design, a hypothesis of underwater gas mining is proved in the all‐in‐one process including the micro‐bubble generation, bubble collection, and gas transport. The current design paves an avenue to reinforce the structure of slippery surfaces, and should promote the function of underwater bubble manipulation toward real‐world applications. Inspired by the ancient suspension bridge, an assembled structure of lubricant‐infused slippery slices possessing both flexibility and toughness is designed. The continuous lubricant layer on the sliced track facilitates the bubble manipulation in an aqueous solution, exhibiting versatile functions of gas‐related applications.