Multifunctional engineering aluminum surfaces for self-propelled anti-condensation

Learning from nature will give us some important inspiration in designing multifunctional materials and in developing new technology. Self-propelled motion is ubiquitous in nature. Special wetting surfaces have considerable technological potential for various applications arising from their extreme repellent properties toward liquids. Here, we reported the spontaneous anti-condensation on low adhesive superamphiphobic engineered Al surfaces. The mechanism of anti-condensation was also investigated in this work. The dropwise condensation on engineering metals was removed autonomously without any external forces arising from the out-of-plane jumping motion of the coalesced drops. The self-propelled jumping motion of merged drops is driven by the surface energy released upon drop coalescence. Besides the anti-condensation, the resultant Al surfaces also showed robust repellency toward various polar, nonpolar liquids and even corrosive liquids, demonstrating stable superamphiphobicity, anti-corrosion, and self-cleaning properties. This will extend the practical applications of engineering metals in the fields of anti-icing and heat exchange.