Electrochemical Switching: Active Control over the Wettability from Superhydrophobic to Superhydrophilic by Electrochemically Altering the Oxidation State in a Low Voltage Range (Adv. Mater. Interfaces 12/2017)

In article number 1700121, Walter Mérida and co-workers achieve tunable wettability on the surface of copper nanostructures via electrochemical redox reactions. Transitions from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic wetting behavior are enabled by low voltage (<1.5 V) manipulation of the oxidation state in the top layer. A droplet manipulation system demonstrates the ability to handle particles on these surfaces. The methodology is transferrable to biomedical applications and smart filtration.