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Tailoring Wetting Properties at Extremes States to Obtain Antifogging Functionality
Author(s) -
Tzianou Maria,
Thomopoulos Giannis,
Vourdas Nikolaos,
Ellinas Kosmas,
Gogolides Evangelos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202006687
Subject(s) - superhydrophilicity , materials science , wetting , nanoscopic scale , morphology (biology) , nanotechnology , transmittance , composite material , optoelectronics , biology , genetics
Fog formation decreases light transmission of optically clear materials. A promising approach to address this problem is to control the wetting properties of the material at extremes states, which requires imparting micro and nano morphology features on the surface. However, such features may affect the optical properties of the surface. In this work, superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces, with different morphology characteristics ranging from nanoscale to hierarchical micro‐nanoscale are fabricated and evaluated in order to investigate which wetting extreme and surface morphology is more suitable to preserve the light‐transmitting properties and exhibit antifogging functionalities. The performance of the aforementioned surfaces is compared for the first time in two different testing modes: under intense fog flow and no surface cooling, and under no‐flow and surface cooling, which enhances dew condensation on the surfaces. It is demonstrated that superhydrophilic surfaces with nanoscale morphology maintain their optical transmittance under fog flow for more than 20 min. This duration is one of the longest reported in the literature revealing the long‐term antifogging functionality of the proposed surfaces. Finally, by tailoring the morphology and the surface wetting properties, an optically switching surface (initially “milky” which becomes “clear”) when exposed to humidity is demonstrated.