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New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

sploid.gizmodo.com

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Re: New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

#3

Post by tomp »

jthurman wrote: post #2

How vulnerable would this nanoscale etching be to damage? Would a scratch or abrasion ruin its hydrophobic properties?

I've been wondering the same thing... Besides, there are other differences between lab environment and the "real world" - actual water is full of impurities (e.g. limescale, urea in pee, mud, salt, acid rain, ...), I wonder if the material retains its hydrophobic properties. The other thing that worries me probably even more than "wear-and-tear" (i.e. scratches, abrasion, ...) is dust - once dust covers the fine nano-structure, water will once again stick to it, and it might well be impossible to clean!

Re: New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

#4

Post by CocaKoala »

tomp wrote: post #3
jthurman wrote: post #2

How vulnerable would this nanoscale etching be to damage? Would a scratch or abrasion ruin its hydrophobic properties?

I've been wondering the same thing... Besides, there are other differences between lab environment and the "real world" - actual water is full of impurities (e.g. limescale, urea in pee, mud, salt, acid rain, ...), I wonder if the material retains its hydrophobic properties. The other thing that worries me probably even more than "wear-and-tear" (i.e. scratches, abrasion, ...) is dust - once dust covers the fine nano…

Dust, at least, is not an issue like you suspect. The researchers who developed this technique took the dust from a vacuum cleaner and dumped it on a treated piece of metal; water picks up the dust and then slides right off, so the surface is actually incredibly easy to clean.

Re: New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

#5

Post by durkie »

jthurman wrote: post #2

How vulnerable would this nanoscale etching be to damage? Would a scratch or abrasion ruin its hydrophobic properties?

Almost certainly. I would also expect contamination (finger oils, for example) to be a big issue.

(Source: I worked on and designed equipment for commercial scale-up of a nanoscale superhydrophobic coating process)

Re: New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

#7

Post by baddox »

ctdonath wrote: post #6

Durability? reaction to other biological substances? I'm thinking of artificial heart valves and the necessity of preventing anything sticking for upwards of 50 years of continuous use.

Regarding durability, the article says

> Instead of using chemical coatings they used lasers to etch a nanostructure on the metal itself. It will not wear off, like current less effective methods.

Re: New metal is so hydrophobic it makes water bounce like magic

#8

Post by msandford »

CocaKoala wrote: post #4
tomp wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been wondering the same thing... Besides, there are other differences between lab environment and the "real world" - actual water is full of impurities (e.g. limescale, urea in pee, mud, salt, acid rain, ...), I wonder if the material retains its hydrophobic properties. The other thing that worries me probably even more than "wear-and-tear" (i.e. scratches, abrasion, ...) is dust - once dust covers the fine nano…

Dust, at least, is not an issue like you suspect. The researchers who developed this technique took the dust from a vacuum cleaner and dumped it on a treated piece of metal; water picks up the dust and then slides right off, so the surface is actually incredibly easy to clean.

Sure, but if you dump something on it which has a grain size that's similar to the voids in the material, all bets are off. If the average void is 1um and you put 0.1um dust all over it, I would suspect that it would embed itself in there pretty nicely.
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