Manipulating spontaneous and directional droplet transport in extreme conditions

Abstract

Understanding and controlling the triple-phase interfaces are fundamentally and technically important for many applications. Despite extensive surge in mimicking intriguing functionalities inherent in living organisms, our ability to rationally tailor the triple-phase interactions to achieve preferential performances at harsh environments remains elusive owing to the complexity imposed by dynamic phase change processes. My research is to develop novel materials with tailored interfacial properties using the bio-inspired approach and explore how the structural topography promotes the triple-phase interactions involving different time and length scales for efficient energy conversion and transport. In particular, we have gotten achievements in exploiting surface structural morphology for the directional, long-range and spontaneous transport of liquid droplet under a wide spectrum of working conditions ranging from the freezing temperature, ambient condition to high temperature. The findings learned from my research offer a new fundamental understanding of interfacial and transport phenomenon, and will find potential applications in the fields of heat transfer, anti-fogging, ice formation retardation, antifouling and so on.