Bioinspired Interfaces for Self-cleaning Technologies

This chapter presents the concept of bioinspiration in materials engineering. It explains the terms biotechnology, biomimetics, bioinspiration, and biokleptics with illustrating examples. The chapter shows the creation of bioinspired surfaces and interfaces especially for self-cleaning technologies based on the fundamental principles of wettability and adhesion. The biomimetics refers to the study of the structure and function of biological systems as models for design of engineering solutions. The self-cleaning is generally based on the wettability of a substance. There are principally two different approaches for self-cleaning technologies such as superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity. Nanotechnology is the creation of new materials, devices, and systems at the molecular level associated with atomic and molecular interactions strongly influence macroscopic material properties with significantly improved mechanical, optical, chemical, electrical, and so on properties.