Metallic cicada wing-inspired surfaces fabricated via nanoimprint lithography coupled with pulse electrodeposition for enhanced wetting and thermal functionality

Abstract

Nanostructured surfaces found in nature offer powerful strategies for thermal-fluid manipulation, yet their replication into durable engineered materials is constrained by fabrication limitations and a lack of comprehensive performance testing. We optimized a dissolvable nanoimprint lithography technique by combining it with pulse electrodeposition to create a repeatable, high-fidelity nanoscale replication method that transfers cicada wing nanopillars onto copper surfaces with >95% geometric fidelity. The resulting nanostructured metal surfaces achieved near cicada wing superhydrophobicity after silane modification and exhibit markedly enhanced pool-boiling heat transfer performance, with a 200% increase in critical heat flux compared to smooth copper samples. This work provides a versatile protocol for exploring nanoscale structure–function relationships and advancing high-efficiency cooling technologies.