Coarsening droplets for frosting delay on hydrophilic slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces

Frosting occurs due to the freezing of condensed water droplets on a supercooled surface. The nucleated frost propagates through interdroplet bridges and covers the entire surface, resulting from the deposition of highly supersaturated vapor surrounding tiny droplets. While inhibition of the formation of frost bridges is not possible, the propagation of frost can be delayed by effectively removing tiny droplets. Passive technologies, such as superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS) and hydrophobic slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), rely on static growth and direct contact with densely distributed droplets. However, use of these approaches in delaying frost propagation involves challenges, as the interdroplet distance remains small. Here, we report a new approach of spontaneous droplet movement on hydrophilic SLIPS to delay the formation of interdroplet frost bridges. Surface tension forces generated by the hydrophilic oil meniscus of a large water droplet efficiently pull neighboring droplets with a diameter of less than 20 μm from all directions. This causes a dynamic separation between water droplets and an adjacent frozen droplet. Such a process delays the formation and propagation of interdroplet frost bridges. Consequently, there is significant delay in frosting on hydrophilic SLIPS compared to those on SHS and hydrophobic SLIPS.