Liquid Wells as Self?Healing, Functional Analogues to Solid Vessels

Liquids are traditionally handled and stored in solid vessels. Solid walls not functional, adaptive, or self-repairing, difficult to remove re-form. Liquid can overcome these limitations, but cannot form free-standing 3D walls. Herein, a liquid analogue of well, termed “liquid well” is introduced. Water tethered surface with hydrophobic–hydrophilic core–shell patterns forms stable capable containing another immiscible fluid, similar fluid confinement by wells different liquids, volumes, shapes prepared investigated confocal Raman microscopy. The various low-surface-tension liquids (LSTLs) on surfaces compete be complementary existing strategies using perfluorinated surfaces, for example, terms the shape height confined LSTLs. show unique properties arising from their aggregate state: they self-healing, dynamic, that is, restricted passive confining role. easily removed re-formed, making them interesting as sacrificial templates. This demonstrated process water-templated polymerization (WTP). Numerical phase-field model simulations performed scrutinize conditions required formation wells.