Water droplets can 'levitate' and dance across a surface at room temperature without needing a hot pan.
April 14, 2026
Original Paper
Competitive Adsorption–Induced Non-Thermal Pseudo-Leidenfrost Effect in Supercritical CO2 Enabling Nanoscale Dewetting
SSRN · 6569671
The Takeaway
The Leidenfrost effect usually requires extreme heat, but this 'pseudo-effect' uses high-pressure CO2 to create a molecular cushion that lifts liquid. This allows for 'nanoscale dewetting,' which is a game-changer for cleaning delicate microchips without the risk of heat damage.
From the abstract
During the fabrication of semiconductor chips with micro/nanostructures, wet cleaning processes often lead to water residues trapped within nanostructures, which severely compromise their structural stability. Therefore, a strategy that reduces droplet adhesion without relying on surface structural modification is highly desired. In this work, a novel supercritical CO2-mediated droplet levitation mechanism, termed the pseudo-Leidenfrost effect, is proposed based on the conventional thermally dri