Condensate droplet roaming on nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces.

ABSTRACT: Jumping of coalescing condensate droplets from superhydrophobic surfaces is an interesting phenomenon which yields marked heat transfer enhancement over the more explored gravity-driven droplet removal mode in surface condensation, a phase change process of central interest to applications ranging from energy to water harvesting. However, when condensate microdroplets coalesce, they can also spontaneously propel themselves omnidirectionally on the surface independent of gravity and grow by feeding from droplets they sweep along the way. Here we observe and explain the physics behind this phenomenon of roaming of coalescing condensate microdroplets on solely nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces, where the microdroplets are orders of magnitude larger than the underlaying surface nanotext

SUBMITTER: Lam CWE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11782698 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature