Lubricant infused surfaces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11098261-B2
Application number	US-201816194262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 16, 2018
Priority date	Nov 16, 2017
Publication date	Aug 24, 2021
Grant date	Aug 24, 2021

Abstract

Lubricant infused surfaces (LIS) can be uncoated high-surface-energy solids, thereby eliminating the need for unreliable low-surface-energy coatings and resulting in LIS repelling the lowest surface tension impinging fluid (butane, γ≈13 mN/m) reported to date.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of preparing a lubricant infused surface for droplet formation comprising:
providing a solid surface;
selecting a lubricant; and
exposing the solid surface to the selected lubricant by directly applying to the solid surface to form the lubricant infused surface without applying a low-surface-energy coating to the surface, wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 17 mN/m.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is a high-surface-energy structured solid having a surface energy between 35 and 55 mN/m.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the surface includes a polar lubricant.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a surface energy of the lubricant does not match a surface energy of the solid surface.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 15 mN/m.

6. A method of droplet formation comprising:
exposing a lubricant infused surface to a vapor, and
wherein the lubricant infused surface is formed by directly applying the lubricant to a solid surface without applying a low-surface-energy coating to the solid surface, wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 17 mN/m.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the surface is a high-surface-energy structured solid having a surface energy between 35 and 55 mN/m.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein a portion of the surface includes a polar lubricant.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein a surface energy of the lubricant does not match a surface energy of the solid surface.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 15 mN/m.

11. A lubricant infused surface comprising:
a surface and a lubricant infused into the surface,
the lubricant infused surface having the lubricant directly on the surface,
wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 17 mN/m.

12. The lubricant infused surface of claim 11 , wherein the surface is a high-surface-energy structured solid having a surface energy between 35 and 55 mN/m.

13. The lubricant infused surface of claim 11 , wherein the lubricant infused surface repels fluids with a surface tension of less than 15 mN/m.

Assignees

• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Wang Evelyn N
• Preston Daniel John

Classifications

• C10N2050/02

  dissolved or suspended in a carrier which subsequently evaporates to leave a lubricant coating · CPC title

• B08B17/065

  the surface having a microscopic surface pattern to achieve the same effect as a lotus flower · CPC title

• C10M2227/045

  used as base material · CPC title

• C10N2050/08

  Solids · CPC title

• C10M2227/04

  having a silicon-to-carbon bond, e.g. organo-silanes · CPC title