Directional Transport of Polymer Sheet and a Microsphere by a Rationally Aligned Nanowire Array

Aligned oblique nanowire arrays (AONWAs; top image) with controllable obliquity, NW diameter, length, and density are produced by a novel method. A mechanism of array formation is proposed and it is demonstrated that the surface structure of AONWAs can be utilized to transport objects ranging from a polystyrene microsphere to a macroscopic PET sheet (lower figures). Unidirectional wetting of the surface and the relation between the anisotropy of the wetting and the NWs' obliquity are described. Potential applications of the AONWAs include fluidic diodes, drug delivery systems, and self-cleaning without a liquid. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.