The Functional Interface Materials Group of Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academic of Sciences has in the past a few years devoted in the study of bio-inspired micro-/nano-interface materials.  After being invited in 2002 (Advanced. Materials 2002, 14, 1857-1860), this group is invited to contribute a review article again, and it has been published in Advanced. Materials (2006, 18, 3063-3078) with the title of “Design and Creation of Superwetting/Antiwetting Surfaces”.  This review article covered the most recent research work in this field of their own group as well as other groups all over the world. The authors present us firstly the  fundamental theories on surface wettability, and then various methods for the preparation of surfaces with superhydrophobicity, superamphiphobicity, superamphiphilicity, superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity, and those reversibly switchable between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity. Finally they provide their conclusions and outlook on the future fundamental research and practical applications.

Using of the existing technique to construct functional surface nanostructures and realize special surface wettability is the frontier of studies in nano-science as well as surface/interface sciences.  Recently, inspired by superhydrophobic living organisms in nature such as lotus leaves and water-strider legs, this group prepared various artificial solid surfaces with special wettability by constructing micro-/nano surface structures. Moreover, they also realized reversible surface wettability by using light, thermal, electrical field, and so on. Some of their research results have been published in the world wide famous journals, such as Nature, Acc. Chem. Res., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem,. and Adv. Mater., and have aroused great interest in the scientific community. The successive publication of review articles indicating their work is always in the frontier of their field and is entering a new stage.

Advanced. Materials( 2002, vol 14, 1857-1860)