Desert Beetle-Inspired Superhydrophilic/Superhydrophobic Patterned Cellulose Film with Efficient Water Collection and Antibacterial Performance

Water collection from moisture and fog has been of particular interest to arid areas. To mimic the water-collecting capacity of Namib desert beetles, herein, we exploit a facile and low-cost approach to develop a superhydrophilic/superhydrophobic hybrid cellulose film, on which TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) act as the hydrophilic region to catch water while Ag NPs coated with thiol behave as the hydrophobic area to induce the rolling of water droplets. The water collection performance can be easily modulated by controlling the two regions, and the collecting efficiency is achieved at as high as 1043 mg cm–2 h–1. Additionally, the film shows good antibacterial behavior, which can improve the water safety. The results indicate that the strategy reported in this work to prepare hybrid surfaces can bring more benefits for constructing highly safe water-collecting devices.