Biomimetic surfaces with patterned wettability for improved dehumidification/air condition efficiency

Dehumidification has a massive impact on the energy efficiency of the air condition system. Condensation is a common way to achieve dehumidification. However, a certain amount of energy is required for harvesting water from the air through condensation. A hybrid hollow fiber membrane system proves to be effective in lowering the consumption of energy. However, the surfaces with patterned wettability receives inadequate attention despite its potential to achieve energy-efficient dehumidification. This review casts a view on the mechanism of condensation via patterned surfaces, which are normally originated from natural biomimetic surfaces. Then, three kinds of surfaces, including the completely hydrophobic surface, completely hydrophilic surface, and the hybrid surface, is employed to explain the working principles of dehumidification via condensation. Besides, the connection between air conditioning and dehumidification and an application that involves a membrane dehumidification and water harvest system for condensation are introduced. It can be concluded that the patterned surfaces do have potentials that can be adopted to air conditioning, considering its exceptional condensation capability.