University of Illinois

Aritra Ghosh

Constantine Michael Megaridis

Thomas Schutzius

Ranjan Ganguly

Provided herein are methods and materials for the manufacture and use of wettability tracks on various substrates for rapid fluid transport and drainage, even in a condensing environment. The degree of wettability of the materials' surfaces range from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic. The method centers on the formation of a dispersion of titanium dioxide and a fluoroacrylic co-polymer in an alcohol and water solution. The dispersion may then be deposited onto a surface to form a coating, which is then dried to evaporate the alcohol. The dried coating is exposed to radiation to produce a wedge-shaped track. The coating is exposed to the radiation through a photomask to produce the track. The radiation may be high energy, such as UV radiation. The radiation may be selectively exposed to designated areas on the coating. The hydrophilic wedge-shaped track may have a wedge angle of from 0 degrees to 45 degrees.

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Chicago, IL, United States of America

Aritra Ghosh