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Fish skin-inspired Janus hydrogel coating for drag reduction
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  • Yurong Zhang,
  • Lijun Li,
  • Ruteng Wang,
  • Junwei Liu,
  • Zhen Lin,
  • Gang Li,
  • Hongtao Liu,
  • Yifeng Lei,
  • Yunhe Xiong,
  • Yan Zhao,
  • Longjian Xue
Yurong Zhang
Wuhan University
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Lijun Li
Wuhan University
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Ruteng Wang
Wuhan University
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Junwei Liu
Wuhan University
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Zhen Lin
Wuhan University
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Gang Li
Wuhan University
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Hongtao Liu
Wuhan University
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Yifeng Lei
Wuhan University
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Yunhe Xiong
Wuhan University
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Yan Zhao
Wuhan University
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Longjian Xue
Wuhan University

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Abstract

In nature, fishes have evolved functional skins with effective hydrodynamic performance to reduce water resistance, anti-fouling, facilitating predation and escaping from predators. Although a large number of fish scale-inspired structured surfaces have been explored, the incorporation of mucus on the structured surfaces has been largely ignored. Inspired by the skins of Osteichthyes fishes, a Janus hydrogel coating (JHC) is successfully prepared by a two-step UV light irradiation at room temperature. The bottom side of JHC (STH) achieves a shear adhesive strength of 103.3 ± 17.5 kPa and can strongly adhere to a large variety of surfaces, including metals, ceramic and polymers. The top surface of JHC (SLH) replicates the structure of cycloid scales, while the nature of hydrogel mimics the mucus on fish skin. SLH possesses prominent mechanical, anti-swelling, anti-fouling and drag reduction properties. The design strategy for JHC has potential applications in numerous fields, like, pipeline transportation, bioengineering, and shipping industry.