Anti-frosting on superhydrophobic surface

Abstract

The superhydrophobic surface can be used in a various fields due to the special wetting behavior. In this paper, distinct characteristics of the superhydrophobic aluminum surface fabricated by simple dipping methods are reported. The superhydrophobicity on the aluminum surface can be realized by hierarchical structures by chemical etching and alkali treatment process, and by low surface energy treatment by a self-assembled monolayer coating using hydrophobic material. As a result, the superhydrophobic aluminum has a high contact angle of 162° and a low hysteresis angle of 2.9°. The fabricated superhydrophobic aluminum surface has a great mechanical durability, so that the surface is improved surface modulus and hardness. In addition, frost is hardly adhered onto the surface due to the superhydrophobicity. The large-area superhydrophobic surface can be fabricated owing to the simple fabrication method using dipping methods, so that the superhydrophobic heat exchanger is fabricated which have excellent anti-wetting property. These advantages demonstrated in this paper will enhance the applicability to a variety of industrial fields such as home appliances and electrical appliances.