A new water repellent coating for aluminium foil could prolong the lifetime of air conditioning units, say researchers in China.rnJian Nong Wang from Tongji University, Shanghai, and Qian Feng Xu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, have developed a superhydrophobic (very difficult to wet) silica coating that could be applied to the aluminium foil used in air conditioning units - protecting it from corrosion.rnWang and Xu prepare their coating by dipping the foil in a mixture of silica colloid particles and a polystyrene template. The polystyrene is then removed leaving a silica network with a controlled surface roughness.
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