Frost formation can cause operational difficulty and efficiency loss for many facilities such as aircraft, wind turbines, and outdoor heat exchangers. Self-propelled jumping by condensate droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces delays frost formation, so many attempts have been made to exploit this phenomenon. However, practical application of this phenomenon is currently unfeasible because many processes to fabricate the superhydrophobic surfaces are inefficient and because self-propelled jumping is difficult to be achieved in a humid and low-temperature environment because superhydrophobicity is degraded in these conditions. Here, we achieved significantly effective anti-icing superhydrophobic aluminum. Its extremely low adhesive properties allow self-propelled jumping under highly supersaturated conditions of high humidity or low surface temperature. As a result, this surface helps retard frost formation at that condition. The aluminum was made superhydrophobic by a simple and cost-effective process that is adaptable to any shape. Therefore, it has promise for use in practical and industrial applications.

Soft and conformable electronics are emerging rapidly and is envisioned as the future of next-generation electronic devices where devices can be readily deployed in various environments, such as on-body, on-skin or as a biomedical implant. Modern day electronics require electrical conductors as the fundamental building block for stretchable electronic devices and systems. In this review, we will study the various strategies and methods of designing and fabricating materials which are conductive, stretchable and self-healable, and explore relevant applications such as flexible and stretchable sensors, electrodes and energy harvesters.

Articles you may be interested inEffect of fiber orientation on shape and stability of air-water interface on submerged superhydrophobic electrospun thin coatings J. Appl. Phys. 111, 064325 (2012); 10.1063/1.3697895 Facile creation of bio-inspired superhydrophobic Ce-based metallic glass surfaces Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 261905 (2011); 10.1063/1.3672036Effect of surface composition and roughness on the apparent surface free energy of silica aerogel materials

No abstract

No abstract