Biomimetic Bubble-Repellent Tubes: Microdimple Arrays Enhance Repellency of Bubbles Inside of Tubes.

The adhesion of bubbles underwater remains the greatest cause of malfunctions in applications such as microfluidics, medical devices, and heat exchangers. Recently, the combination of oxidization and peeling the top layer of self-organized honeycomb films with an adhesive tape resulted in the formation of an ultra-bubble-repellent and pillared polymer surface structure. However, the fabrication of honeycomb films on the inner surface of tubes and the formation of structured hydrophilic textures by peeling the top layer of honeycomb films still remain problematic. In this report, a simple fabrication technique for producing a honeycomb-patterned polymer film on the interior of a tube by dip-coating a polymer solution and blowing humid air in the tube is described. Furthermore, an ultra-bubble-repellent dimple-arrayed structure was fabricated by applying ultrasonication to the honeycomb structure formed on the interior surface of the tubes.