Bioinspired oil strider floating at the oil/water interface supported by huge superoleophobic force

Oil pollution to aquatic devices, especially to those oil-cleaning devices and equipment-repairing robots during oil spill accidents, has drawn great attention and remains an urgent problem to be resolved. Developing devices that can move freely in an oil/water system without contamination from oil has both scientific and practical importance. In nature, the insect water strider can float on water by utilizing the superhydrophobic supporting force received by its legs. Inspired by this unique floating phenomenon, in this article, we designed a model device named "oil strider" that could float stably at the oil/water interface without contamination by oil. The floating capability of the oil strider originated from the huge underwater superoleophobic supporting force its "legs" received. We prepared the micro/nanohierarchical structured copper-oxide-coated copper wires, acting as the artificial legs of oil strider, by a simple base-corrosion process. The surface structures and hydrophilic chemical components of the coatings on copper wires induced the huge superoleophobic force at the oil/water interface, to support the oil strider from sinking into the oil. Experimental results and theoretical analysis demonstrate that this supporting force is mainly composed of three parts: the buoyancy force, the curvature force, and the deformation force. We anticipate that this artificial oil strider will provide a guide for the design of smart aquatic devices that can move freely in an oil/water system with excellent oil repellent capability, and be helpful in practical situations such as oil handling and oil spill cleanup. © 2012 American Chemical Society.