A research result seen this week. Researchers from the University of Rochester have created an interesting metal structure: it looks like a piece of metal with a gap between two pieces of metal, but unlike ordinary pieces of metal, even if it is completely pressed into the water, it can still float to the surface of the water. Even if you poke a few holes in the middle, it will not sink.

(Matt Mann/University of Rochester)

Why doesn't it sink? This is not because the metal itself is less dense than water, but because there is enough air in the gap between the metal sheets to make the overall density smaller. If such a structure is made of ordinary metal sheets, the water should enter the gap when it is completely immersed in the water, while the structure developed by the researchers is that the opposite inner surfaces of the two metal sheets are super-hydrophobic so that the water does not enter the crevice.

the following is a schematic diagram of the paper. The jagged side is treated to produce a super-hydrophobic microstructure.

making the metal into a hollow structure can also achieve the floating effect, but if so, the structure must be kept intact, and if damaged, it will sink into the water. The structure made by super-hydrophobic treatment does not depend on sealing, even if a few holes are poked in the middle, it can still hold a lot of air and still make the metal sheet float.

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researchers use laser to "etch" the metal surface, leaving behind the microstructure, to achieve excellent hydrophobic performance. The researchers believe that these metal devices, which are good at floating and not soaked by water, may come in handy in areas such as the protection of electronic devices.

by the way, the following dynamic picture of the bounce of water droplets that I like very much is actually a demonstration of previous research results from the same laboratory. The super-hydrophobic surface is very incompatible with the water, and the water droplets can easily bounce on it like a small ball, looking very cute.

(Matt Mann/University of Rochester)

Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.9b15540