A nanotextured surface (NTS) is a surface which is covered with nano-sized structures. Such surfaces have one dimension on the

nanoscale Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

, i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1 and 100 nm. They are currently gaining popularity because of their special applications due to their unique physical properties. Nanotextured surfaces are in various forms like cones, columns, or fibers. These are water, ice, oil, and microorganism repellent that is superamphiphobic, anti-icing, and

antifouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

respectively and thus self-cleaning. They are simultaneously

anti-reflective An antireflective, antiglare or anti-reflection (AR) coating is a type of optical coating applied to the surface of lenses, other optical elements, and photovoltaic cells to reduce reflection. In typical imaging systems, this improves the effi ...

and transparent, hence they are termed ''smart'' surfaces. In research published online October 21, 2013, in

Advanced Materials ''Advanced Materials'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering materials science. It includes communications, reviews, and feature articles on topics in chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, ceramics, metallurgy, and biomaterials. Accor ...

, of a group of scientists at the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...

(BNL), led by BNL physicist and lead author Antonio Checco, proposed that nanotexturing surfaces in the form of cones produces highly water-repellent surfaces. These nano-cone textures are ''super

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the chemical property of a molecule (called a hydrophobe) that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, thu ...

'' or super-water-hating.

Applications

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Cyril R. A. John Chelliah, Cyril R. A. John Chelliah, Rajesh Swaminathan, Rajesh Swaminathan, "Pulsed laser deposited hexagonal wurzite ZnO thin-film nanostructures/nanotextures for nanophotonics applications," Journal of Nanophotonics 12(1), 016013 (13 February 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JNP.12.016013 Cyril R. A. John Chelliah, Cyril R. A. John Chelliah, Rajesh Swaminathan, Rajesh Swaminathan, } "Pulsed laser deposited hexagonal wurzite ZnO thin-film nanostructures/nanotextures for nanophotonics applications," Journal of Nanophotonics 12(1), 016013 (13 February 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JNP.12.016013 Nanomaterials Display technology Moisture protection Surface science

Applications

See also

References