Biphilic Surface Resists Frosting

Oct-07-15 A biphilic surface that drastically delays frosting significantly by both repelling and attracting water could have applications in a wide range of industries.

Created by a team led by Amy Betz of Kansas State University, the surface is made up of an array of hydrophilic circles placed on a hydrophobic background. At first, water droplets formed on the hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas of the material, but as the droplets grew larger, they merged with the droplets on the hydrophilic areas. This caused the droplets to lose surface tension and grow larger, which delayed frosting by three hours at 6 degrees C.

The team is now experimenting with different biphilic patterns that maximize the coalescence of the droplets in order to optimize their frost-delay properties.

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