Directional Droplet Transport on Functional Surfaces with Superwettabilities

Abstract Directional droplet transport on smart surfaces with superwettabilities arouse extensive attentions from both the scientific community and industry due to the exciting applications in healthcare, environmental protection, and energy harvesting. The past decades have witnessed the progress and achievements in mechanism disclosure, device preparation, and applied investigation. Herein, various droplet transport schemes are summarized, such as electrohydrodynamic strategy, self‐propelled droplet on anisotropic surfaces, gravity driven droplet on slippery lubricant impregnated porous surfaces (SLIPS), and other engineering strategies. Accordingly, the basic mechanism of droplet manipulation, devices configuration, and key features are presented. The recent cutting‐edge applications of directional droplet transport, including digital microfluidics, electric energy harvesting, fag/water collection, and oil‐water separation are also reviewed. At the end, current challenges and future perspectives in this field are discussed.