Controlling Wetting with Oblique Angle Vapor-Deposited Parylene

In Nature, directional surfaces on insect cuticle, animal fur, bird feathers, and plant leaves comprise dual micro/nanoscale features that tune roughness and surface energy. This chapter summarizes experimental and theoretical approaches for the design, synthesis, and characterization of new bioinspired surfaces demonstrating unidirectional surface properties. The surfaces discussed herein are fabricated using oblique angle polymerization (OAP), a subclass of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). An array of applications that take advantage of the anomalous features of OAP surfaces are reviewed. The theoretical component of the chapter summarizes computational tools to predict the physicochemical properties of OAP surfaces.