Innovative superhydrophobic surfaces improve droplet shedding efficiency in condensation, suggesting broad industrial applications.
Efficient removal of condensation droplets from cooled superhydrophobic surfaces is pivotal for practical applications such as anti‐icing, water collection, and condensation heat transfer. However, these surfaces often lose their superhydrophobicity as microdroplets become trapped within their structures during condensation, particularly under high supercooling conditions. Here, a fluorine‐free superhydrophobic surface, fabricated via a facile one‐step vapor deposition method, is introduced, featuring a hierarchical cauliflower‐like structure. This design restricts condensation droplet size to a maximum diameter of ≈50 µm and a coverage rate of ≈16%, markedly enhancing droplet shedding efficiency, due to a hierarchical cauliflower‐like structure enhances the larger Laplace force and smaller adhesion. Notably, the surface maintains stable superhydrophobicity even after 720 min of exposure to 100 °C vapor (supercooling of ≈99 °C), surpassing the durability of traditional superhydrophobic surfaces by two orders of magnitude, highlighting its efficacy in anti‐condensation under extreme supercooling conditions. Beyond anti‐condensation, this design demonstrates enhanced self‐cleaning even via condensation droplets or for high‐adhesive nanoparticles, eco‐friendliness, and demonstrates robust durability, including thermal stability above 500 °C and anti‐ultraviolet radiation, thereby broadening its potential for industrial applications in various harsh environments.
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Cui et al. (2025) studied this question.
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