Open AccessHydrophobic durability characteristics of butterfly wing surface after freezing cycles towards the design of nature inspired anti-icing surfaces
Author(s) -
Tingkun Chen,
Qian Cong,
Yingchun Qi,
Jingfu Jin,
KwangLeong Choy
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0188775
Subject(s) - defrosting , frost (temperature) , icing , durability , wing , butterfly , materials science , contact angle , composite material , meteorology , ecology , structural engineering , biology , air conditioning , mechanical engineering , engineering , physics
The hydrophobicity and anti-icing performance of the surfaces of some artificial hydrophobic coatings degraded after several icing and de-icing cycles. In this paper, the frost formation on the surfaces of butterfly wings from ten different species was observed, and the contact angles were measured after 0 to 6 frosting/defrosting cycles. The results show that no obvious changes in contact angle for the butterfly wing specimens were not obvious during the frosting/defrosting process. Further, the conclusion was inferred that the topography of the butterfly wing surface forms a special space structure which has a larger space inside that can accommodate more frozen droplets; this behavior prevents destruction of the structure. The findings of this study may provide a basis and new concepts for the design of novel industrially important surfaces to inhibit frost/ice growth, such as durable anti-icing coatings, which may decrease or prevent the socio-economic loss.