Controlling water capture of bioinspired fibers with hump structures.

Abstract

Geometrically engineered thin fibers that feature introduced hump structures similar to wetted spider capture silk greatly improve the adhesive ability to drops than uniform ones, which is attributed to an unusual three-phase contact line that extends axially along the fibers. The hump structures improve the stability of the contact line through a combination of "slope" and "curvature" effects, which creates sufficient capillary adhesion to pin drops.