Meyer Marco, Buchberger Gerda, Heitz Johannes, Baiko Dariya, Joel Anna-Christin
Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen, Worringerweg 3, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Institute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Nov 27;11(12):3222. doi: 10.3390/nano11123222.
Due to their uniquely high surface-to-volume ratio, nanofibers are a desired material for various technical applications. However, this surface-to-volume ratio also makes processing difficult as van der Waals forces cause nanofibers to adhere to virtually any surface. The cribellate spider represents a biomimetic paragon for this problem: these spiders integrate thousands of nanofibers into their adhesive capture threads. A comb on their hindmost legs, termed calamistrum, enables the spiders to process the nanofibers without adhering to them. This anti-adhesion is due to a rippled nanotopography on the calamistrum. Via laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), these nanostructures can be recreated on artificial surfaces, mimicking the non-stickiness of the calamistrum. In order to advance the technical implementation of these biomimetic structured foils, we investigated how climatic conditions influence the anti-adhesive performance of our surfaces. Although anti-adhesion worked well at low and high humidity, technical implementations should nevertheless be air-conditioned to regulate temperature: we observed no pronounced anti-adhesive effect at temperatures above 30 °C. This alteration between anti-adhesion and adhesion could be deployed as a temperature-sensitive switch, allowing to swap between sticking and not sticking to nanofibers. This would make handling even easier.
由于其独特的高表面积与体积比，纳米纤维是各种技术应用中理想的材料。然而，这种表面积与体积比也使得加工变得困难，因为范德华力会导致纳米纤维附着在几乎任何表面上。 cribellate蜘蛛是解决这个问题的仿生典范：这些蜘蛛将数千根纳米纤维整合到它们的粘性捕捉丝中。它们后腿上的梳子状结构，称为栉器，使蜘蛛能够加工纳米纤维而不会附着在它们上面。这种抗粘附性是由于栉器上有波纹状的纳米形貌。通过激光诱导周期性表面结构（LIPSS），这些纳米结构可以在人造表面上重现，模仿栉器的不粘性。为了推进这些仿生结构箔片的技术应用，我们研究了气候条件如何影响我们表面的抗粘附性能。尽管在低湿度和高湿度下抗粘附效果良好，但技术应用仍应配备空调以调节温度：我们发现在温度高于30°C时没有明显的抗粘附效果。这种抗粘附与粘附之间的变化可以用作温度敏感开关，允许在粘附和不粘附纳米纤维之间切换。这将使操作更加容易。
