Spatial Control of Condensation: The Past, the Present, and the Future

Abstract

reproducible outcomes are not guaranteed and experiments at this small scale are difficult to characterize. Transcending the randomness would have immense environmental, safety, and economic consequences.A critical element in understanding condensate behavior is the distinction between homo-and heterogenous nucleation. The former case describes a spontaneous nucleus formation in the gas phase, a process that is typically orders of magnitude less likely to occur than its heterogenous counterpart, where nucleation happens at a solid-gas or liquid-gas interface. [8] Therefore, heterogeneities in the system can serve as trigger points for nucleation and deliberate positioning of interfaces can shift the condensation toward specific and predetermined locations. Introducing such nucleation catalysts to alter the random nature is the focus of this review; more popularly phrased, I answer the question: what are the options to achieve spatial control of condensation? Within each category, I discuss its strengths and limitations, with consideration to the degree of control possible and practical considerations such as scalability.

3D printing of reactive macroporous polymers via thiol–ene chemistry and polymerization-induced phase separation

“…The method presented here contributes to the evolving landscape of 3D-sculpted macroporous polymers, particularly in tailoring their mechanical properties and enabling chemical patterning with (photo-initiated) click-chemistry. Wettability patterning is just one example of chemical patterning, but finds applications in fog harvesting, 27 anti-counterfeit, 28 spatial control of nucleation 29 for crystal growth, 30 and programmable cell migration 31 – these studies were based on monotonic chemical gradients or 2D patterns. Chemical patterning of 3D objects multiplies the possibilities, highlighting its potential as a versatile tool in the field of 3D printed macroporous materials.…”

Metal Surface Engineering for Extreme Sustenance of Jumping Droplet Condensation

“…Heterogeneous condensation of water on a solid surface is ubiquitous in nature, e.g., when dew is collected overnight on all kinds of natural surfaces, from grass 1 to spider silks, 2 as well as in engineering applications such as energy conversion cycles of power plants, 3 water collection (dew) from atmospheric air, 4 separation technologies, 5 and electronics cooling. 6 Water deposition on surfaces through condensation can be a result of either phase transition or water supersaturation of the surrounding air with respect to the surface temperature and can be categorized into two distinct modes, namely, filmwise condensation (FWC) and dropwise condensation (DWC).…”

Design of Nanostructured Surfaces for Efficient Condensation by Controlling Condensation Modes

“…As a result, the condensation process corresponding to the dropwise condensation mode that generates Cassie-Baxter droplets is very attractive for many practical applications [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]. Since the form of condensation product has a significant impact on the overall performance of condensation, it is of great application value to find a feasible control method of the condensation mode on the surface to meet the needs of the different industrial fields mentioned above [ 11 ].…”