Novel solid-infused durable nonwetting surfaces for sustained condensation heat transfer enhancement

In this article, we report novel nonwetting solid-infused surfaces that are easily fabricated using industrially widely adopted methods such as chemical etching or electrodeposition and exhibit sustained dropwise condensation performance durably than superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused surfaces. Solid-infused surfaces demonstrate fourfold larger condensation heat transfer coefficient and 25% better condensation effectiveness when compared to superhydrophobic surface and conventional filmwise condensation. Although the conden-sation heat transfer coefficient of lubricant-infused surface initially matches that of solid-infused surface, it is shown through durability studies that the wettability characteristic that underpins the performance of lubricant -infused surfaces degrades quickly with time as the lubricant depletes and lubricant-infused surface transitions to superhydrophobic surface. Solid-infused surface, on the other hand, retains its steadfast superior dropwise condensation effectiveness in the long run, overcoming the challenges of droplet pinning, surface inundation, cloaking, and lubricant depletion that eventually deteriorate condensation on conventional nonwetting super -hydrophobic and lubricant-infused surfaces.

Automated summary

In this article, we introduce a novel nonwetting solid-infused surface that is easily fabricated using industrially widely adopted methods and exhibits sustained dropwise condensation performance better than superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused surfaces.