Everything Slips: Design of Novel Omniphobic Materials
Event details
| Date | 06.05.2013 |
| Hour | 13:15 |
| Speaker |
Prof. Joanna Aizenberg, Harvard University Bio: Joanna Aizenberg is well-known for her important contributions in the fields of biomimetics, crystal engineering, surface chemistry, nanofabrication, biomineralization, biomechanics, and biooptics. |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Creating a robust synthetic material that repels various liquids would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from biomedical devices to fuel transport to architecture but has proven to be extremely challenging. Inspirations from natural nonwetting structures, particularly the lotus, surged the development of liquid-repellent microtextured surfaces that rely on the formation of a stable air-liquid interface. Despite over a decade of intense research, these surfaces are, however, still plagued with problems that restrict their practical applications: they show limited oleophobicity with high contact angle hysteresis; fail under pressure and upon any physical damage; cannot self-heal, and are expensive to produce. To address these challenges, I will present a new strategy to create self-healing, Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS) with exceptional liquid- and ice-repellency, pressure stability, and enhanced optical transparency. The approach to SLIPS.inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants.is fundamentally different from the lotus effect in that we use nano/microstructured substrates infused with a lubricating fluid. This surface outperforms its natural counterparts and state-of-the-art synthetic surfaces in its capability to resist ice and insect adhesion; repel various simple and complex liquids (water, hydrocarbons, crude oil, and blood); maintain low contact angle hysteresis (<2.5o); restore liquid-repellency after physical damage rapidly (within 0.1-1 s); an function at high pressures (up to ~676 atm). We anticipate that the slippery surfaces can find important applications in fluid handling and transportation, optical sensing, medicine, and as self-cleaning and anti-fouling surfaces operating in extreme environments.
Links
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Frauenrath Holger <[email protected]>
Contact
- Frauenrath Holger <[email protected]>