Super waterproof material: Allows water droplets to bounce away directly

China Coatings Online News: U.S. scientists recently used laser etching technology to develop a new waterproof material that allows water droplets that fall on the surface to be bounced off directly.
study was led by Optical Physicist Chunle Guo of the University of Rochester in New York. They used lasers to etch microns and nanoscale miniature patterns on metal surfaces, making the surface of the material very water-refringing or drainage-resistant. When water drops on such a surface it is rejected and bounces away directly. The findings were published January 20 in the Journal of Applied Physics.surfaces are more waterproof and less wear-resistant than typical chemical coatings or coatings. The flat-bottomed non-stick pots we use in our lives use Teflon coatings, and the surfaces coated with Teflon need to be tilted to 70 degrees to allow water to flow away, while the new material requires an angle of no more than 5 degrees.addition, this particular surface has strong self-cleaning properties. When a droplet of water bounces off its surface, it also takes away the dust that falls on the surface.
to test its self-cleaning function, researchers used vacuum cleaners to spray dust on the surface of the material. Experiments have found that only 3 drops of water can be used to remove half of the surface of the material dust particles, with 12 drops of water can successfully remove all dust, while the surface of the material is completely dry, spotless.the new material surface, the team used powerful but short laser pulses to etch the surfaces of platinum, titanium or brass. Each laser pulse lasts only about a trillionth of a second, but the peak power reached is equivalent to the total power of the entire North American grid.The application and imagination of this waterproof material is very broad: it can be used on the surface of the aircraft wing to prevent the risk of water dripping ice when the aircraft is flying, can be used on the surface of the car so that owners never have to wash their cars again, and can even be used to develop wash-free toilets to send benefits to water-scarce areas in Africa.addition, the researchers blackened the metal with the same laser etching pattern technology, making the material's surface also good for absorbing light and applying it to solar panels that are neither waterproof nor rusty or clean.
, of course, there are many challenges to the technology, such as the laser that takes an hour to etch an area 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide on a metal surface. In the future, the team will try to apply this approach to non-metallic materials. If it does, completely waterproof roofs, tents, clothes, and so on will be possible.