Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Nano particle coating repels ice

|
|
 
  
Published: Oct. 30, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Advertisement

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A coating developed at the University of Pittsburgh repels freezing rain and could be applied easily to roads, planes and power lines, researchers said.

The nano particle coating developed in the Swanson School of Engineering belongs to a class of water repellants known as superhydrophobic coatings, doctoral student Liangliang Cao said in a release Thursday.

The coating was inspired by water-resistant Lotus leaves, which have microscopic ridges that reduce the surface area to which water can adhere, Cao said.

Cao's team created resins from nano particles of silica and applied it to frozen aluminum plates to simulate freezing rain. Resins with silica particles less than 50 nanometers in size completely prevented icing, Cao said.

Water touched the air pockets between the particles and fell away without freezing. Cao produced similar results when he used the coating on a commercial satellite dish, the university said.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Oscar nominations 2012 High Fashion in Paris 2011: The year in space
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 20
"TIME" premiere in Japan
View Caption
fark
"...as the initial water released from the lake was contaminated by drilling fluid." *facepalm*
How many officers does it take to beat the fark out of a man in insulin shock? In Nevada, the answer...
Top 3 things not to wear when escaping from prison: #3 - Heart monitor, #2 - Hospital gown, #1 -...
When your friend gives you a ride to work instead of your girlfriend, does your girlfriend a) say...
Twitter troll learns the hard way that you shouldn't call the Queen of England a "benefits scrounger"...
Man returns to house to find squatters with drugs, grenades, and since this is Florida and not New...