ArticleNature communications2026
Bulk-cusp microstructure for controllable multi-directional liquid spreading.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Bioinspired Adaptive Surfaces for Intelligent Liquid Manipulation: Progressing From Passive and Active to Hybrid Strategies.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Review
- Tailoring Superwettability Through Bioinspired Reentrant Microstructures.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Controllable wetting of liquid on solid surface is meaningful for advanced science and engineering. Current researches about controllable liquid spreading are generally limited to unidirectional modes, while achieving multi-directional spreading on microstructured surfaces remains challenging. Herein, we propose a novel type of bulk-cusp microstructure, exhibiting 0 to 4-directional spreading of droplet without external energy input. This behavior occurs not only under single-drop deposition but also under continuous liquid injection. The bulk structure is assumed to have cross or square shape, implying relatively high and low coverage ratio of the precursor film, respectively. Owing to the drag effect of the precursor film, the cross-cusp microstructure facilitates controllable spreading of the main droplet, whereas the square-cusp microstructure just has guidance action on precursor film due to its low coverage ratio. Mechanism analysis reveals the capillary forces generated from the narrow gaps between adjacent cusps effectively separate the precursor film. The area coverage ratio of precursor film determined by the shape of the bulk influences the coupling or decoupling of the droplet body and precursor film. Such controllable multi-directional liquid spreading enables applications in lubrication enhancement and smart evaporation cooling.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.