Liquid-impregnated surfaces, methods of making, and devices incorporating the same
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsJ. David Smith, Rajeev Dhiman, Kripa K. Varanasi, Ernesto Reza-Garduño Cabello
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Abstract
The invention is directed to an article with a liquid-impregnated surface, the surface having a matrix of features thereupon, spaced sufficiently close to stably contain a liquid therebetween or therewithin, and preferable also a thin film thereupon. The surface provides the article with advantageous non-wetting properties. Compared to previous non-wetting surfaces, which include a gas (e.g., air) entrained within surface textures, these liquid-impregnated surfaces are resistant to impalement and frost formation, and are therefore more robust.
Claims18
An article comprising a liquid-impregnated surface, said surface comprising a plurality of micro-scale and/or nano-scale solid features spaced sufficiently close to stably contain an impregnating liquid therebetween, said surface stably containing said impregnating liquid between said solid features, wherein said impregnating liquid fills the volume between said solid features, wherein said impregnating liquid is held in place between said plurality of features regardless of orientation of said surface, wherein 0<φ<0.5, where φ is the surface area fraction of said surface non-submerged by said impregnating liquid, and wherein said surface is a textured surface and said solid features are engineered protrusions of said textured surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.