Ultraslippery Surface for Efficient Fog Harvesting and Anti‐Icing/Fouling

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2024-12, Vol.20 (49), p.e2405875-n/a
• Main Authors: Zhang, Huayang, Xie, Shangzhen, Zhang, Wenhao, Wang, Fengyi, Guo, Zhiguang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antifouling; anti‐icing; Fog; fog harvesting; green preparation; Hydrophobicity; Ice formation; Industrial applications; Lubricants; multifunctional slippery surface; Nanowires; Plant layout; solid lubricant
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202405875

The conventional Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surface (SLIPS) encounters challenges such as silicone oil leakage and complex manufacturing of rough substrate structures. Thus, it is crucial to develop a lubricant that is highly adaptable and less prone to loss for surface structures; a temperature‐controlled method of infusing oleogel into a superhydrophobic surface (SHS) is presented in this paper. This approach draws inspiration from the characteristics of Nepenthes pitcher plant structures, albeit without the need for intricate pore‐making or nanowire structures. It is demonstrated that this resulting surface has exceptional fog harvesting capability, with a fog harvesting efficiency of 0.3222 g cm−2 min−1, which is twice as high as that of the laser aluminum (Al) sheet (0.1553 g cm−2 min−1). Moreover, the surface exhibits remarkable anti‐icing properties, significantly prolonging the icing time by 21‐fold compared to the pure Al sheet while maintaining a minimal ice adhesion force of only 0.16 N. Additionally, the surface showcases excellent antifouling performance, because contaminated droplets readily slide off without leaving residue. The environmentally friendly and straightforward preparation process ensures that it is suitable for large‐scale industrial applications. The new multifunctional slippery surface is designed, which shows excellent sliding performance. It can harvest fog effectively, and has excellent anti‐ice and ‐fouling properties. This work provides an idea for designing solid multifunctional ultrasmooth surfaces.