Phys.org February 22, 2023
Dust accumulation is detrimental to optical elements, electronic devices, and mechanical systems and is a significant problem in space missions and renewable energy deployment. A team of researchers in the US (UT Austin, industry) fabricated and demonstrated antidust nanostructured surfaces that can remove close to 98% of lunar particles solely via gravity. The structures are fabricated using a highly scalable nanocoining and nanoimprint process, where nanostructures with precise geometry and surface properties are patterned on polycarbonate substrates. The dust mitigation properties of the nanostructures were characterized using optical metrology, electron microscopy, and image processing algorithms to demonstrate that the surfaces can be engineered to remove nearly all the particles above 2 μm in size in the presence of Earth’s gravity. Compared to the 35.0% area coverage on a smooth polycarbonate surface, the particle coverage on nanostructures with 500 nm period was significantly reduced to 2.4%, an improvement of 93%. According to the researchers their work enhances the understanding of the particulate adhesion on textured surfaces and demonstrates a scalable, effective solution to antidust surfaces that can be broadly applied to windows, solar panels, and electronics… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Tags: Advanced materials,
Graphical abstract. Credit: ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX, February 22, 2023