All the FabSurfWAR tasks for the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2018 described in the proposal have been carried out and successfully completed as planned. The project has developed world-class processes for the design, fabrication, measurement and characterisation of functional surfaces with controllable wettability, adhesion and reflectivity. Scientific progress has been achieved in the following areas:
• Various functional surface modelling and fabrication technologies have been reviewed, and the database for functional surfaces has been set up. Road maps for future controllable functional surface design and fabrication technologies have been established. Surface modelling, characterisation and fabrication technologies have been studied. The correlation between the surface topography and the wettability has been studied. Influences of the pillar shape on the wettability, adhesion and reflectivity have also been explored.
• Bionic methodologies to generate and represent the functional surfaces have been studied. The functional surfaces exhibited by some soil-burrowing insects for their anti-adhesion/anti-contamination performances have been investigated and sample tools developed.
• Different advanced laser processing structuring technologies: direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) and ultrafast laser-induced mirco/nano structuring and direct laser structuring were explored. Various types of nano/micro-scaled surface structures/patterns on metallic surfaces were generated by utilizing three different types of lasers: femtosecond laser, nanosecond laser and excimer laser. All these techniques can be used to generate controllable hydrophobicity.
• The cheap and easy ways for making structure surface on fairly large scales have also been investigated. These cover more conventional methodologies from mechanical machining technologies including milling, turning and grinding to Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM). The influence of the machining parameters on the surface topography and further on the wettability have been examined in micro and nano scales.
• The Nanolithography and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)-based nano-fabrication were also utilized to fabricate nanorods, nanopillars, flat nanopatterns of triangles and circles and nanobows on the materials including silicon, SU-8 resist, polymers, nickel and PDMS.
• Surface coating and deposition techniques have been applied to produce antimicrobial surface and control wetting via controlling of surface chemistry and topography. E. Coli bacteria were tested on the structured stainless steel surfaces. Zinc oxide films with three types of nanotopographies: needle-like and hexagonal nanorods and flakes, were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis on stainless steel substrates to investigate their photocatalytic and antibacterial properties. The results showed that photocatalytic activity was clearly influenced by the nanotopography.
• AFM is used both as a sensor and as an actuator, for nano-handling of nanoscopic and biological objects. AFM is also used for nanoindentation, material processing and cutting of nano-objects like DNA.
