On-Demand Fabrication of Transferable and Repairable Nanoneedle Arrays for Multisurface Applications via the Breath-Figure Method

This study proposes a novel strategy for fabricating transferable and repairable nanoneedle arrays (NNAs) using the breath-figure (BF) method, which enables the reproducible construction of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures on various substrates, including rigid, flexible, and curved surfaces. The fabricated nanoneedles exhibit excellent mechanical stability and can be selectively repaired by retransferring the BF membrane to the damaged areas. Hydrophilic modification imparts excellent underwater antibubble and superoleophobic properties to the NNAs, with oil droplet contact angles of >170° and 96.6% transparency at 800 nm, making them highly promising for antifouling and self-cleaning applications. The decoupling of porous membrane fabrication (a storage-stable state) and NNAs construction (a functional state) allows the storage and deployment of preprepared membranes on demand, ensuring high process flexibility, environmental friendliness, and biological safety. This work extends nanoneedle fabrication to widely used polymers, such as polysulfone, polycarbonate, and polylactic acid, offering a versatile and scalable platform for multifunctional device integration. The transferable and repairable nanostructures reported here are expected to pave the way for next-generation flexible and dynamic surface applications.