Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)
The gas (or plastron) trapped between micro/nano-scale surface textures, such as that on superhydrophobic surfaces, is crucial for many engineering applications, including drag reduction, heat and mass transfer enhancement, anti-biofouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning. However, the longevity of th...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Ankit Gupta Hangjian Ling |
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| description | The gas (or plastron) trapped between micro/nano-scale surface textures, such as that on superhydrophobic surfaces, is crucial for many engineering applications, including drag reduction, heat and mass transfer enhancement, anti-biofouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning. However, the longevity of the plastron is significantly affected by gas diffusion, a process where gas molecules slowly diffuse into the ambient liquid. In this work, we demonstrated that plastron longevity could be extended using a gas-soluble and gas-permeable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface. We performed experiments for PDMS surfaces consisting of micro-posts and micro-holes. We measured the plastron longevity in undersaturated liquids by an optical method. Our results showed that the plastron longevity increased with increasing the thickness of the PDMS surface, suggesting that gas initially dissolved between polymer chains was transferred to the liquid, delaying the wetting transition. Numerical simulations confirmed that a thicker PDMS material released more gas across the PDMS–liquid interface, resulting in a higher gas concentration near the plastron. Furthermore, we found that plastron longevity increased with increasing pressure differences across the PDMS material, indicating that the plastron was replenished by the gas injected through the PDMS. With increasing pressure, the mass flux caused by gas injection surpassed the mass flux caused by the diffusion of gas from plastron to liquid. Overall, our results provide new solutions for extending plastron longevity and will have significant impacts on engineering applications where a stable plastron is desired. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-9c61853d43c24b9b93ebaa5da60ecce32025-01-24T13:24:42ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732025-01-011014510.3390/biomimetics10010045Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)Ankit Gupta0Hangjian Ling1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA 02747, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA 02747, USAThe gas (or plastron) trapped between micro/nano-scale surface textures, such as that on superhydrophobic surfaces, is crucial for many engineering applications, including drag reduction, heat and mass transfer enhancement, anti-biofouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning. However, the longevity of the plastron is significantly affected by gas diffusion, a process where gas molecules slowly diffuse into the ambient liquid. In this work, we demonstrated that plastron longevity could be extended using a gas-soluble and gas-permeable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface. We performed experiments for PDMS surfaces consisting of micro-posts and micro-holes. We measured the plastron longevity in undersaturated liquids by an optical method. Our results showed that the plastron longevity increased with increasing the thickness of the PDMS surface, suggesting that gas initially dissolved between polymer chains was transferred to the liquid, delaying the wetting transition. Numerical simulations confirmed that a thicker PDMS material released more gas across the PDMS–liquid interface, resulting in a higher gas concentration near the plastron. Furthermore, we found that plastron longevity increased with increasing pressure differences across the PDMS material, indicating that the plastron was replenished by the gas injected through the PDMS. With increasing pressure, the mass flux caused by gas injection surpassed the mass flux caused by the diffusion of gas from plastron to liquid. Overall, our results provide new solutions for extending plastron longevity and will have significant impacts on engineering applications where a stable plastron is desired.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/1/45plastron longevitygas diffusionpolydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfacesuperhydrophobic surfaceplastron recoverywetting transition |
| spellingShingle | Ankit Gupta Hangjian Ling Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Biomimetics plastron longevity gas diffusion polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface superhydrophobic surface plastron recovery wetting transition |
| title | Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) |
| title_full | Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) |
| title_fullStr | Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) |
| title_short | Extend Plastron Longevity on Superhydrophobic Surface Using Gas Soluble and Gas Permeable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) |
| title_sort | extend plastron longevity on superhydrophobic surface using gas soluble and gas permeable polydimethylsiloxane pdms |
| topic | plastron longevity gas diffusion polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface superhydrophobic surface plastron recovery wetting transition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/1/45 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ankitgupta extendplastronlongevityonsuperhydrophobicsurfaceusinggassolubleandgaspermeablepolydimethylsiloxanepdms AT hangjianling extendplastronlongevityonsuperhydrophobicsurfaceusinggassolubleandgaspermeablepolydimethylsiloxanepdms |