Self-cleaning of superhydrophobic surfaces by self-propelled jumping condensate

The self-cleaning function of superhydrophobic surfaces is conventionally attributed to the removal of contaminating particles by impacting or rolling water droplets, which implies the action of external forces such as gravity. Here, we demonstrate a unique self-cleaning mechanism whereby the contam...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2013-05, Vol.110 (20), p.7992-7997
Main Authors: Wisdom, Katrina M., Watson, Jolanta A., Qu, Xiaopeng, Liu, Fangjie, Watson, Gregory S., Chen, Chuan-Hua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesiveness
Animals
Cicadas
Cleaning
Condensation
Contaminants
Contamination
Gravity
Hemiptera
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Hydrophobic surfaces
Imaging
Insecta
Liquids
Materials Testing
Mechanics
Microscopy, Atomic Force - methods
Models, Statistical
Nanostructures - chemistry
Physical Sciences
Stress, Mechanical
Surface Tension
Vapors
Vibration
Viscosity
Water - chemistry
Water vapor
Wettability
Wings, Animal - physiology
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Summary:The self-cleaning function of superhydrophobic surfaces is conventionally attributed to the removal of contaminating particles by impacting or rolling water droplets, which implies the action of external forces such as gravity. Here, we demonstrate a unique self-cleaning mechanism whereby the contaminated superhydrophobic surface is exposed to condensing water vapor, and the contaminants are autonomously removed by the self-propelled jumping motion of the resulting liquid condensate, which partially covers or fully encloses the contaminating particles. The jumping motion off the superhydrophobic surface is powered by the surface energy released upon coalescence of the condensed water phase around the contaminants. The jumping-condensate mechanism is shown to spontaneously clean superhydrophobic cicada wings, where the contaminating particles cannot be removed by gravity, wing vibration, or wind flow. Our findings offer insights for the development of self-cleaning materials.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1210770110