Shape memory polymer micropatterns with switchable wetting properties

Inspired by nature, scientists have developed a number of surfaces with controllable wettability, which can be altered by alterations in surface micro/nanostructures or by changes in chemical compositions. In this article, the control of surface wettability by three kinds of shape-memory micropatterns was reported, which are reversibly transformed between a stretched and an original/recovered state due to the shape-memory properties of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). The surface wettability also varies with the surface micropatterns, and this study demonstrates the surface wettability can be controlled by the reversible transformation of the surface morphology of the micropatterns.