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Contaminant removal from nature’s self-cleaning surfaces
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Perumanath, Sreehari, Pillai, Rohit and Borg, Matthew K. (2023) Contaminant removal from nature’s self-cleaning surfaces. Nano Letters, 23 (10). pp. 4234-4241. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00257 ISSN 1530-6992.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00257
Abstract
Many organisms in nature have evolved superhydrophobic surfaces that leverage water droplets to clean themselves. While this ubiquitous self-cleaning process has substantial industrial promise, experiments have so far been unable to comprehend the underlying physics. With the aid of molecular simulations, here we rationalize and theoretically explain self-cleaning mechanisms by resolving the complex interplay between particle–droplet and particle–surface interactions, which originate at the nanoscale. We present a universal phase diagram that consolidates (a) observations from previous surface self-cleaning experiments conducted at micro-to-millimeter length scales and (b) our nanoscale particle–droplet simulations. Counterintuitively, our analysis shows that an upper limit for the radius of the droplet exists to remove contaminants of a particular size. We are now able to predict when and how particles of varying scale (from nano-to-micrometer) and adhesive strengths are removed from superhydrophobic surfaces.
Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QC Physics T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Mathematics | |||||||||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | |||||||||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Nanoparticles -- Mathematical models, Hydrophobic surfaces, Drops -- Mathematical models, Cicadas, Condensed matter | |||||||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Nano Letters | |||||||||||||||
Publisher: | American Chemical Society (ACS) | |||||||||||||||
ISSN: | 1530-6992 | |||||||||||||||
Official Date: | 8 May 2023 | |||||||||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 23 | |||||||||||||||
Number: | 10 | |||||||||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 4234-4241 | |||||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00257 | |||||||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | |||||||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | |||||||||||||||
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society | |||||||||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 8 June 2023 | |||||||||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 8 June 2023 | |||||||||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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