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A brand new bioinspired material has been developed by researchers at Harvard University and Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Services. It is a continuous liquid film that coats, and is infused in, an elastic porous substrate making it a highly versatile material. They are a step closer in the development to a self -adjusting contact lens for example, that can also " cleanse " itself. The design is based on one core concept: that any deformation of the substrate which may include poking, stretching or swelling,changes the size of the pores, which in turn causes the liquid surface to actually change its shape.
The design demonstrates that the material can be dynamically controlled with two key functions: transparency and wettability which long term makes it highly adaptable and functional for a myriad of uses.
They can also design the porous elastic solid so it is responsive dynamically to light, temperature, magnetic or electric fields, pressure and chemical signals,or other environmental conditions.
This new development is an advancement on SLIPS pioneered a few years back that was a repellant coating but this new material is a liquid-infused elastic porous surface.
It provides potential for many industries ranging from oil and gas pipelines, to microfluidic and optical systems,textile design and use plus building design and construction.