On Temporal Biphilicity: Definition, Relevance, and Technical Implementation in Boiling Heat Transfer

Solid–fluid interfaces switching from a superhydrophilic to a superhydrophobic wetting state are desired for their ability to control and enhance phase-change heat transfer. Typically, these functional surfaces are fabricated from polymers and modify their chemistry or texture upon the application of a stimulus. For integration in relevant phase-change heat transfer applications, several challenges need to be overcome, of chemical stability, mechanical and thermal robustness, as well as large scale manufacturing. Here, we describe the design and fabrication of metallic surfaces that reversibly switch between hydrophilic and superhydrophobic states, in response to pressure and temperature stimuli. Characterization of the surfaces in pool boiling experiments verifies their thermal and mechanical robustness, and the fabrication method is scalable to large areas. During pool boiling experiments, it is experimentally demonstrated that the functional surfaces can be actively switched between a high-efficiency mode suitable at low heat flux, and a high-power mode suitable for high heat flux applications.