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Hyper-anti-freezing bionic functional surface to −90°C

  • Zhaolong Wang*
  • , Mingzhu Xie
  • , Qing Guo
  • , Yibo Liao
  • , Ce Zhang
  • , Yongping Chen*
  • , Zhichao Dong*
  • , Huigao Duan*
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Hunan University
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
  • Southeast University, Nanjing
  • Suzhou University of Science and Technology
  • CAS - Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Freezing phenomenon has troubled people for centuries, and efforts have been made to lower the liquid freezing temperature, raise the surface temperature, or mechanical deicing. Inspired by the elytra of beetle, we demonstrate a novel functional surface for directional penetration of liquid to reduce icing. The bionic functional surface is fabricated by projection microstereolithography (PµSL) based three dimensional printing technique with the wettability on its two sides tailored by TiO2 nanoparticle sizing agent. A water droplet penetrates from the hydrophobic side to the superhydrophilic side of such a bionic functional surface within 20 ms, but it is blocked in the opposite direction. Most significantly, the penetration time of a water droplet through such a bionic functional surface is much shorter than the freezing time on it, even though the temperature is as low as −90°C. This work opens a gate for the development of functional devices for liquid collection, condensation, especially for hyperantifogging/freezing.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberpgad177
JournalPNAS Nexus
Volume2
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Laplace force
  • PμSL based 3D printing
  • anti-icing
  • liquid unidirectional penetration

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