Condensation droplet sieve

Chen Ma; Li Chen; Lin Wang; Wei Tong; Chenlei Chu; Zhiping Yuan; Cunjing Lv; Quanshui Zheng

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32873-1

Condensation droplet sieve

Chen Ma^*, Li Chen, Lin Wang, Wei Tong, Chenlei Chu, Zhiping Yuan^*, Cunjing Lv^*, Quanshui Zheng^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Tsinghua University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Large droplets emerging during dropwise condensation impair surface properties such as anti-fogging/frosting ability and heat transfer efficiency. How to spontaneously detach massive randomly distributed droplets with controlled sizes has remained a challenge. Herein, we present a solution called condensation droplet sieve, through fabricating microscale thin-walled lattice structures coated with a superhydrophobic layer. Growing droplets were observed to jump off this surface once becoming slightly larger than the lattices. The maximum radius and residual volume of droplets were strictly confined to 16 μm and 3.2 nl/mm² respectively. We reveal that this droplet radius cut off is attributed to the large tolerance of coalescence mismatch for jumping and effective isolation of droplets between neighboring lattices. Our work brings forth a strategy for the design and fabrication of high-performance anti-dew materials.

Original language	English
Article number	5381
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32873-1
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Condensation droplet sieve",

abstract = "Large droplets emerging during dropwise condensation impair surface properties such as anti-fogging/frosting ability and heat transfer efficiency. How to spontaneously detach massive randomly distributed droplets with controlled sizes has remained a challenge. Herein, we present a solution called condensation droplet sieve, through fabricating microscale thin-walled lattice structures coated with a superhydrophobic layer. Growing droplets were observed to jump off this surface once becoming slightly larger than the lattices. The maximum radius and residual volume of droplets were strictly confined to 16 μm and 3.2 nl/mm2 respectively. We reveal that this droplet radius cut off is attributed to the large tolerance of coalescence mismatch for jumping and effective isolation of droplets between neighboring lattices. Our work brings forth a strategy for the design and fabrication of high-performance anti-dew materials.",

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T1 - Condensation droplet sieve

AU - Ma, Chen

AU - Chen, Li

AU - Wang, Lin

AU - Tong, Wei

AU - Chu, Chenlei

AU - Yuan, Zhiping

AU - Lv, Cunjing

AU - Zheng, Quanshui

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - Large droplets emerging during dropwise condensation impair surface properties such as anti-fogging/frosting ability and heat transfer efficiency. How to spontaneously detach massive randomly distributed droplets with controlled sizes has remained a challenge. Herein, we present a solution called condensation droplet sieve, through fabricating microscale thin-walled lattice structures coated with a superhydrophobic layer. Growing droplets were observed to jump off this surface once becoming slightly larger than the lattices. The maximum radius and residual volume of droplets were strictly confined to 16 μm and 3.2 nl/mm2 respectively. We reveal that this droplet radius cut off is attributed to the large tolerance of coalescence mismatch for jumping and effective isolation of droplets between neighboring lattices. Our work brings forth a strategy for the design and fabrication of high-performance anti-dew materials.

AB - Large droplets emerging during dropwise condensation impair surface properties such as anti-fogging/frosting ability and heat transfer efficiency. How to spontaneously detach massive randomly distributed droplets with controlled sizes has remained a challenge. Herein, we present a solution called condensation droplet sieve, through fabricating microscale thin-walled lattice structures coated with a superhydrophobic layer. Growing droplets were observed to jump off this surface once becoming slightly larger than the lattices. The maximum radius and residual volume of droplets were strictly confined to 16 μm and 3.2 nl/mm2 respectively. We reveal that this droplet radius cut off is attributed to the large tolerance of coalescence mismatch for jumping and effective isolation of droplets between neighboring lattices. Our work brings forth a strategy for the design and fabrication of high-performance anti-dew materials.

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Condensation droplet sieve

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