Re:Engineers discover new class of materials that passively ...
by mleonhard on Tuesday May 27, 2025 @02:49PM
(#44109647)
Looking at the paper, it seems like they put some silicon-dioxide nanoparticles on a substrate, then add a plastic (poly-ethylene) layer on top and melt it (annealing). The spaces between the nanoparticles gets partially filled with plastic. The ratio of plastic to particles is the poly-ethylene volume fraction (Ï•PE). They tested different fractions and found that a certain range caused the wetting behavior.
Their experiments suggest that tiny water droplets appear inside the material at 70% RH (relative humidity). If this is true, then I expect there is a way to extract the droplets using very little energy. Ideas:
- make open collection points on the film
- use ultrasound to bounce the droplets around and consolidate them
- make the film on a material that can be saturated with water so the new droplets can easily join the flow
Their experiments suggest that tiny water droplets appear inside the material at 70% RH (relative humidity). If this is true, then I expect there is a way to extract the droplets using very little energy. Ideas:
- make open collection points on the film
- use ultrasound to bounce the droplets around and consolidate them
- make the film on a material that can be saturated with water so the new droplets can easily join the flow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volume_fraction