The Namib desert beetle is unique, because it uses its super hydrophobic exoskeleton to called water directly from the moisture in the air. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology mimicked the beetle trick by developing a coating made of silicon Nan particles. The trick in making a microscopically rough surface. The researchers did this by using polyelectrolyte multilayer eight to 20 alternating layers of silicon Nan particles and polyallylamine hydrochloride and then including the silicon to aggregate.
The super hydrophilic effects was achieved when nanoparticles in the coating attracted water droplets and forced them to form smaller contact angles with the surface. So instead of beading, they flattened and merged to form a uniform transparent sheet. By forcing water to spread in a uniform sheet, fogging is prevented, thus making the application useful fir goggles and windows.
The researchers then went one step further by combining both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions in the same surface. As a result, they came up with a surface with hydrophilic regions that get together water that other wise would not condense, in the same way that the Namib Desert beetle collect hose down to drink.
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