In collaboration with Professor Mark Losego’s lab at Georgia Tech and former HMNL member Lin Lei at Chongqing Jiaotong University, HMNL member Catherine Nachtigal studied the application of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to methylcellulose nanowire forests deposited by self-limiting electrospray deposition (SLED). Applying a thin layer of ALD alumina made the nanowire forests superhydrophobic, while maintaining the conformal nature of both ALD and SLED. It was found that balancing the high surface area of large aspect ratio wires with the mechanical instability that came with thinner nanowires allowed for optimal electrospray conditions and atomic layer deposition treatments to create the largest, most stable water contact angles possible. You can read the paper in Advanced Engineering Materials.
