Non-stick frying pans are used in the kitchens and they are quite popular at present. They are Teflon coated and is hydrophobic, which means it slips out the water and does not get wet. For this reason, food does not easily burn while cooking in a non-stick frying pan. Hydrophobic metals are really useful for us in everyday work. But the scientists of Rochester University have invented a way to make super-hydrophobic metals which actually bounces off the water. They have used lasers to transform metals into water-repellent metals without any coating.
Super-hydrophobic metals are useful in many extents such as anti-icing, rust prevention or even in sanitation. The metals which have been invented are more hydrophobic than any other hydrophobic metals. Most of the hydrophobic metals rely on coating, but the new metal needs no coating and are much stronger water-repellent. The scientists of Rochester University have used a strong and precise laser patterning technique that creates an intricate pattern of micro and nano-scale structure to give the metals this new property. This new research was based on an earlier research done by the same team. In their earlier research, they used laser patterning to turn metals black.
The newly invented metal is actually so much water-repellent that water jumps out of it when dropped. If you drop water in Teflon, it will not roll off until you tilt the surface 70 degrees. But the new metal is much more slippery than Teflon and you just need to tilt the surface to less than 5 degrees in order to roll the water off. The metal is so water-repellent that it has self-cleaning properties like lotus leaves. When water is dropped on this metal, it attracts the dusts of the surface of the metal. And when the water jumps off, it also takes the dust with it. To prove the clarification, the scientists put some dusts on the surface of the metal and then dropped some water on it. When the water jumped out, the dusts were gone.
The scientists are very hopeful with the usefulness of this newly-invented metal. It can be used in sanitation, rust preventing metal or even in building airplanes. If this metal is used in making airplanes, then there will be no need for de-icing from the surface of airplane, because this water-repellent metal will not even let water freeze on it.
This new invention will shape the future in new exciting ways that we can’t wait for.
