Design of Robust Lubricant-Infused Surfaces for Anti-Corrosion

Abstract

A lubricant-infused surface such as an oil-impregnated porous surface has great potentials for various applications due to its omniphobicity. However, the drainage and depletion of the lubricant liquid oil remain practical concerns for real applications. Here, we investigate the effect of a specially designed bottle-shaped nanopore of anodic aluminum oxide, which has a smaller pore diameter in the upper region than the lower one, on the oil retentivity and anti-corrosion efficacy. The effects of the viscosity and volatility of the lubricant oil were further investigated for synergy. Results show that the bottle-shaped pore helps to stably immobilize the lubricant oil in the nanostructure and significantly enhances the robustness and anti-corrosion efficacy, compared to the conventional cylindrical pores with straight walls as well as the hybrid one featured with additional pillar structures. Moreover, the enlarged oil capacity in the bottle-shaped pore allows the oil to cover the underlying metallic surface effectively at cracks, enhancing the damage tolerance with a unique self-healing capability. The oil with a higher viscosity further enhances the benefits so that the bottle-shaped pore impregnated with a higher-viscosity oil shows greater anti-corrosion efficacy. It suggests that the combination of the geometric features of nanopores and the fluid properties of lubricant liquid can lead to a maximized longevity and anti-corrosion efficacy of the liquid-infused surfaces for real applications.

Control of the Nanopore Architecture of Anodic Alumina via Stepwise Anodization with Voltage Modulation and Pore Widening

“…One of the primary advantages of hierarchical AAO films is that they are highly adaptable, since their geometric characteristics (i.e., D p , D int , porosity, and pore shape) can be readily tailored to meet the requirements (e.g., relationship between D p , D int , porosity, pore shape, and film thickness, among other factors) for various devices and applications, e.g., filters, sensors, and solar cells. Further, thus-fabricated AAO structures with distinct nanopores can be used as general templates for a variety of materials and also in applications such as superhydrophobic and liquid-infused surfaces with anticorrosive and antibiofouling property [ 20 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. The structure of the thus-produced nanoporous AAO can be tailored to obtain complex nanostructures, which may be accorded different functionalities to produce optical biosensors with high selectivity for targeted analysis [ 46 ].…”

Recent Progress in Emerging Novel MXenes Based Materials and their Fascinating Sensing Applications

“…A low LOD for NH 3 , in particular, was attempted via thorough research. For example, utilizing the as‐synthesized 2D MXenes NMs and the single layer MXenes NMs, Lee et al, [ 379 ] and Wu et al., [ 380 ] constructed the Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene NMs based NH 3 gas sensors. The LOD values for these sensors were theoretically about 9.27 ppm and experientially about 10 ppm, correspondingly.…”

Recent Progress in the Fabrication and Optical Properties of Nanoporous Anodic Alumina

“…Major steps have been instigated in this direction, and people are working on various types of experimental techniques, such as the application of modulated current/voltage pulses during anodization, resulting in hierarchical or unconventional nanostructures within the porous oxide of NAA. The future of photonics combined with such hierarchical nanostructures [28,307,308] seems promising, as academics and industry are increasingly putting resources towards this emerging technology.…”