The real-time detection of the dynamic behavior of micro oil droplets in water can not only avoid the blockage of marine detectors by oily wastewater and timely detect oil leaks in underwater equipment, but also help establish a new type of micro oil droplet detection system. However, traditional detection methods are unable to monitor waste oil and sewage in a timely manner. Recently, Professor Zhang Zhongqiang's team from Jiangsu University (first author Song Yunyun) published an innovative study in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. Inspired by the microchannel structures of cactus spines, bottle grass, and mushroom-like structures of springtails, the authors constructed an integrated system that can adsorb, transport, and self-detect micro oil droplets through a stable gas film. The mushroom-shaped structure improves the thickness and stability of the gas film, transforming the motion interface from an oil-water interface to an oil-gas interface, significantly reducing resistance, and achieving ultra-high speed transport of micro oil droplets induced by the gas film. This system can achieve ultra-fast underwater oil droplet transportation (135 mm/s) through the oil-water-gas phase replacement mechanism. Simultaneously simulating a "liquid control gate", an integrated system capable of efficient adsorption, transportation, and self-detection of oil pollution was established by controlling the on/off of underwater circuits using ethanol and oil droplets. On-site monitoring and collection of oil pollution in the water body of the work area can be carried out. By real-time monitoring of the movement trajectory and position of micro oil droplets, underwater crude oil pipeline leaks and lubricating oil leaks of key underwater equipment can be detected.

Figure 1: (a) Basic characteristics of cactus spines, bottle grass microchannel structures, and mushroom-like structures of springtails; (b) The morphology of biomimetic coupled conical structures; (c) Simulate a "liquid control door" structure that enables the transportation and self-detection of underwater oil droplets.

Associate Professor Song Yunyun from Jiangsu University is the first author of the paper, Professor Zhang Zhongqiang is the corresponding author, graduate student Wang Wei is the first author of the paper except for the supervisor, and the School of Mechanical Engineering from Jiangsu University is the first institution of the paper. This work has received support from the National Natural Science Foundation General Project (52475301), the National Natural Science Foundation Youth Project (52005222), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation General Project (2020M671372).

Paper information:

Phase Replacement Enables Self-Detectable and High-Efficiency Oil-Adsorbing Bioinspired Coupled Structure. Yun-Yun Song, Wei Wang, Jia-Ning Hou, Zhao-Peng Yu, Yan Liu, Zhong-Qiang Zhang.

Advanced Functional Materials, 2025, e20200.

https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202520200