Controlling liquid flow on surfaces underpins diverse technologies for critical 21st Century applications that can help to optimize production processes, save resources, mitigate effects of climate change and transform medical care. Examples range from resource-efficient tool lubrication to fog water harvesting in coastal deserts or the precisely targeted delivery of drugs. Unfortunately, a lack of scientific understanding of the principal mechanisms of surface fluid transport currently hampers the design and deployment of optimal surfaces for the microscale control of liquid flow. This project will take inspiration from the super-wettable trapping surfaces of carnivorous pitcher plants to design and manufacture bioinspired micropatterned surfaces (bio-metasurfaces)
for directional fluid transport, optimized for different manufacturing techniques and materials.

 

We will take a three-step approach: 1) – Characterize the diversity of natural plant surfaces and quantify their capacity to guide and transport water. 2) – Develop synthetic surface replicas and artificial surfaces using inexpensive cleanroom fabrication techniques. We will prioritise simplified structural design to help us disentangle the contributions of surface chemistry and topography on wetting and water spreading. The results will allow us to identify the functional limits of water transport on pitcher plant-like surfaces. 3) – Optimize surface topography for fluid transport within the constraints of manufacturing techniques and materials. The culmination of the
PhD will be the realisation of bioinspired fluid transporting meta-surfaces and demonstration of liquid-flow control as proof of concept.

Full project description here.

Application details here.

Application deadline: midday 4 October 2024.

Project start: January 2025.

Interested students with a background in engineering or physics please get in touch to discuss the project in more detail.