Monday, September 29, 2008
2008 R&D 100 Winner
Fluid control always presents an engineering challenge, and water is possibly at the head of the list. It’s necessary for all life, yet it corrodes metals, freezes roads, and contaminates substances. To help manage water, the NanoSH Superhydrophobic Technology developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Ross Technology Corp., Leola, Pa., works with water’s natural tendencies, designing a powder coating material that interacts with water molecules in such a way as to reduce the total energy of the water-surface interface only when the interface moves upward. NanoSH is built by differentially etching two glass phases, starting with a borosilicate. The resulting nanostructured surface consists of spiked cones, more than a million per square centimeter. These achieve a contact angle of greater than 175°, preventing water from entering the grain pores. Air is trapped throughout the porous amorphous silica, providing thermal and electrical insulation. The air renders water-based corrosion low or non-existent. This technology opens the door to a variety of potential applications such as reducing the energy needed for transmission of water through pipes and protecting metals and alloys from corrosion.
Technology
Powder coating material
Developers
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ross Technology Corp.
