Robust Icephobic Performance of Flexible Needles

Xuejuan Liu, Hongbin Zhao, Peiliu Li, Yan Pang, Yuzun Fan, Bo Zhang, Lei Wang, Yongmei Zheng, Zuankai Wang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Superhydrophobic micro-/nanopatterned structures exhibit robust water/ice repellence in harsh environments, which is significant for theoretical study and industrial applications such as cooling in nuclear power, heat transfer, and self-cleaning for aircraft. However, the reported studies regarding icephobic functional surfaces based on rigid materials have indicated potential dangers in applications, e. g., the roughness topographies are easily ruined in the icing process, which limits further application and study. In this study, polydimethylsiloxane-based flexible microneedles (FNs) with ZnO nanorods are designed and fabricated and further characterized with robust icephobicity at a temperature of 0 °C. In this system, the flexible microneedles could bend to match the deformation caused by icing from condensed droplets, resulting in protecting the nanorods on its surface, which is significantly promising for durable icephobicity in harsh environments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175-180
Number of pages6
JournalChemNanoMat
Volume5
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • flexible micro-/nanostructures
  • heat transfer, superhydrophobic surfaces
  • icephobicity
  • nanorods

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomaterials
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Materials Chemistry

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