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With the right microstructure, the roughness, and therefore the abrasion that occurs on the surface of a material can be controlled. If the presence of some type of lubricant is also taken into account, microstructures can be created that allow better lubrication of the surface and therefore less abrasion.

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Depending on the scale, any structure can modify its environment differently. For example, if a mountain has cavities and holes meters long, we call it a cave, and it can be used as a storehouse or home. On the other hand, if the cavities and holes are millimeter long, we will call it rock porosity. And, at most, some liquid such as water, or some gas such as air, can pass through it, but in no case a person.In the case of structures realized on the micrometer scale, they are called microstructures. These microstructures usually appear as simple patterns of roughness on the surface of materials, which change some of the properties of these surfaces.

An updated list of chemicals is available from the following website: https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition65/proposition-65-list. According to the January 3, 2020 Proposition 65 List, there were over 1000 chemicals listed that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.

As with hydrophobicity, which makes a material repel water or a particular liquid, it can also be made to attract it. With this, the liquid can be made to spread quickly across the surface, which can be beneficial, for example, for painting or gluing processes.

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Previously, some properties that can be modified by microstructuring the surfaces of the materials have been discussed above. Some of them are detailed below:

Shark skin It is a line-based microstructure, present in shark scales, which has superhydrophobic water-repellent properties. This allows the shark to be able to swim with less water opposition, and therefore reach higher speeds. Gecko skin It is a pillar-based microstructure, which provides superhydrophobic properties. This causes any water droplets that come in contact with its skin to slide off without adhering, and eventually be expelled. This property helps the gecko to stay clean and to be able to get rid of sand grains that may adhere to its body when living in the desert. lotus leaf It is a microstructure that provides superhydrophobic properties. Lotus flowers, despite growing in areas with abundant water, keep their leaves always dry and clean thanks to the hydrophobic properties of their leaves. In this way, water is repelled and carries away any particles of dust or dirt, keeping the leaves clean. Snakeskin It is a microstructure based on lines, capable of decomposing light into different colors. This means that depending on the angle from which it is observed, its skin appears to be of a certain color or another, thus attracting different prey to feed on.

Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, was enacted as a ballot initiative in November 1986 and requires businesses to provide warnings on/with their products about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. By law, a warning must be given for Prop 65 listed chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer and/or birth defects/reproductive toxicity. An exemption from the warning requirement is provided by the Act when it can be demonstrated that product exposure is at or below “safe harbor levels”; that is, the levels pose no significant risk ofcancer or birth defects/reproductive harm.

In nature you can constantly find plants or animals that present unique and surprising properties. For example, there are some snakes with skins that change color depending on the angle from which they are viewed, as well as the existence of insects that are able to “walk” on water. These properties, although unusual, are, to a greater extent, accepted in nature. Now, what would you think if we told you that you could give the color-changing properties of snakeskin to a cell phone, or the ability of insects to “walk” on water to a steel bar? All this and much more is possible by modifying the surface roughness of things, or what is the same, giving surfaces certain microstructures to achieve new properties in materials.

Artificial microstructures are those developed by humans that do not occur as such in nature. Although it is true that many of these microstructures try to replicate natural microstructures, the manufacturing processes available at the moment do not allow them to be completely replicated. Because of this, many of the artificial microstructures present a simple pattern that repeats itself in an orderly fashion, without being able to emulate some of the chaotic form of microstructures in nature.

With certain very specific microstructures, it is possible to inhibit the proliferation of bacteria on the surface of the materials. Although it is not possible to kill the bacteria, it is possible to prevent them from being deposited properly, thus preventing the proliferation of bacterial colonies and their subsequent transformation into biofilm.

The techniques by which artificial microstructures can be obtained are very diverse and varied. For example, if we polish an object, we are modifying its surface microstructure, and thus its properties. Similarly, if we abrade a polished surface with coarse sandpaper, we increase its roughness and also change its surface microstructure. These methods are simple examples with which certain microstructures can be obtained, but the properties that can be achieved in this way are limited and well known. In this section, we focus on two of the most novel methods by which high precision and small size microstructures can be obtained.

Natural microstructures, as their name suggests, are those that occur in nature. Both plants and animals have evolved over thousands of years to adapt to their environment. Some of these adaptations are on a larger scale, such as the long necks of giraffes to reach the treetops, or the opposable thumbs of primates to grasp objects more easily. Others, however, are microscopic, and also provide certain advantages over their environment. Some examples of natural microstructures can be seen below:

The surface of a material can be made to repel water or other liquids. To do this, a specific microstructure must be designed for each material and liquid. The reason why water or certain liquids can be repelled is centered on the modification of the surface tension of the material, holding the liquid on its surface.

There are different types of microstructures, as well as different ways of classifying them. In this blog we will distinguish two main groups: natural microstructures and artificial microstructures.

Valley or line-shaped microstructures They are obtained by making lines in the same direction. Grid-like microstructures They are obtained by drawing lines in two perpendicular directions.Pillar-shaped microstructures They are obtained by creating holes or cavities in the surface. Cavity-shaped microstructures They are obtained by creating holes or cavities in the surface.

It allows, by scanning a laser beam on a surface, to create microstructures starting from a few microns. It is a method that allows microstructuring a great variety of materials and that has been developed in the last years. In ATRIA we have made examples of laser microstructuring.

It allows the layered deposition of a low range of materials on very specific substrates. It is necessary to use masks to perform this technique, which usually does not allow the processing of large surfaces. On the other hand, the range of microstructures that can be achieved is wider and of better quality and definition than with laser.