CONTROLLING THE SURFACE MORPHOLOGY FOR WATER COLLECTING FROM THE AIR

Abstract

The study proposes a method of water collection from the air inspired by the water 'trapping' phenomenon of Stenocara beetles in the Sahara desert. The unique combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions facilitates water collection. The square regions in superhydrophilic were generated using a designed shadow mask incorporated with UVO (Ultra Violet – Ozone). These superhydrophilic regions were surrounded by superhydrophobic areas to enhance the water-driven ability.  The survey results demonstrated outstanding water collection efficiency on the combined surface compared to the surfaces with uniform wettabilities. This can be explained by the radical task differentiation of water collection and transmission, which is explained by the energy required for the heterogeneous nucleation from the gas phase at the interface between the Aluminum surface and humid air. The results illustrate the potential of controlling the wettability of the combined surface for application-oriented water collection purposes in arid and difficult areas.