Biomimetic functional coating for flux control

We would like to develop slippery liquid infused surfaces for molding applications. Molding technology is of great importance in industry and understanding the wetting behavior of molding liquids (polymers/metals) is of fundamental interest and non-trivial as well because of the involved phase transition from liquid to gel/solid upon cooling. Thus, both wetting and post solidification adhesion needs to be accounted for while designing a surface. Often a de-wetting mold-liquid combination is desirable as it facilitates separation of the final product from mold cavity and prevents formation of unwanted defects due to sticking of molten liquids to the surface. We intend to address this by designing slippery liquid infused coatings. This novel surface manipulation technique was conceptualized independently by the groups of Aizenberg and Quéré in 2011. They proposed infusing a textured porous substrate with a wetting liquid to create pressure-stable slippery outer layer, which exhibits excellent liquid repellency and self-cleaning properties by making undesirable liquids slide off and wipe away surface contaminants in the process. In this collaborative project, we intend to utilize our knowledge on wetting behavior in conjunction with the advanced material processing and characterization facilities at NIMS to tackle this fundamentally interesting problem of significant practical relevance.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sushanta Mitra

Student:

Partner:

National Institute for Materials Science

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Nanotechnology; Advanced Manufacturing; Technology

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: