Robust omniphobic surfaces
Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Edwards Air Force Base
Abstract
Superhydrophobic surfaces display water contact angles greater than 150 degrees in conjunction with low contact angle hysteresis. Microscopic pockets of air trapped beneath the water droplets placed on these surfaces lead to a composite solid-liquid-air interface in thermodynamic equilibrium. Previous experimental and theoretical studies suggest that it may not be possible to form similar fully-equilibrated, composite interfaces with drops of liquids, such as alkanes or alcohols, that possess significantly lower surface tension than water (gamma(lv) = 72.1 mN/m). In this work we develop surfaces possessing re-entrant texture that can support strongly metastable composite solid-liquid-air interfaces, even with…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 21.90
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 41
Authors
5Topics & keywords
- Contact angle
- Composite number
- Surface tension
- Materials science
- Hysteresis
- Composite material
- Surface energy
- Metastability
- Clean water and sanitation