Combining the Marangoni Effect and the pH-Responsive Superhydrophobicity-Superhydrophilicity Transition to Biomimic the Locomotion Process of the Beetles of Genus Stenus
Meng Xiao, Mengjiao Cheng, Yajun Zhang* and Feng Shi*
Small, 2013, 9, 2509-2514 
1. Beetles of the genus Stenus are propelled forward by a substance released from their anal end onto the surface of the water under external stimuli, which is a magic performance of Marangoni effect in the nature. Learning from nature is the eternal theme of the intelligent development of new materials.
2. Learning from the creatures, we have fabricated a functionally cooperating device with different kinds of surface wettability, whose locomotion from static to mobile can respond to the pH value transformation.