Apparatus and methods employing liquid-impregnated surfaces

US12103051B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US

Inventors

• J. David Smith · Arlington, US
• Sushant Anand · Somerville, US
• Srinivas Prasad Bengaluru Subramanyam · Cambridge, US
• Konrad Rykaczewski · Tempe, US
• Kripa K. Varanasi · Lexington, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 1, 2020
• Grant date: Oct 1, 2024
• Expiry date: Jul 10, 2042

Classification

• Technology area (CPC F): Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
• CPC primary: F28F2245/04
• WIPO field: Basic materials chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

In certain embodiments, the invention is directed to apparatus comprising a liquid-impregnated surface, said surface comprising an impregnating liquid and a matrix of solid features spaced sufficiently close to stably contain the impregnating liquid therebetween or therewithin, and methods thereof. In some embodiments, one or both of the following holds: (i) 0<ϕ≤0.25, where ϕ is a representative fraction of the projected surface area of the liquid-impregnated surface corresponding to non-submerged solid at equilibrium; and (ii) Sow(a)<0, where Sow(a) is spreading coefficient, defined as γwa−γwo−γoa, where γ is the interfacial tension between the two phases designated by subscripts w, a, and o, where w is water, a is air, and o is the impregnating liquid.