PolyU scholar’s transformative work on the Leidenfrost effect wins the Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2023

Prof. Zuankai WANG, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Nature-Inspired Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been bestowed one of the 10 winners of the Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2023 in Engineering and Technology category for his groundbreaking work on resolving the Leidenfrost effect.

The Award aims to foster research and innovation across all disciplines by celebrating cutting-edge discoveries. The Falling Walls Foundation, based in Berlin, established the Award to acknowledge the most recent breakthroughs in science and society worldwide. 

Prof. WANG’s innovation on structured thermal amour (STA) is recognised with the accolade of “Breaking the Wall to the Leidenfrost Effect.” His research “Inhibiting the Leidenfrost effect above 1,000°C for sustained thermal cooling,” published in Nature in 2022 tackles the longstanding challenges posed by the Leidenfrost effect since 1756. 

When the temperature surpasses the Leidenfrost point, a continuous vapour layer forms between the solid and the liquid, leading to a reduction in heat transfer due to increased thermal resistance. Finding an efficient method for cooling hot surface has been a persistent challenge within thermal engineering and materials science. 

Prof. WANG’s innovated STA strategy holds the potential to implement efficient liquid cooling at extremely high temperature, particularly in fields like aero-engines, space-engines and next generation nuclear reactors. This breakthrough also applies to electronics cooling which suffers from increased heat flux as a result of device miniaturization. 

Prof. WANG said, “Solving this classical scientific problem at the heart of this award demands diverse and broad knowledge which I drew upon insights from surface science, materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics as well as advanced manufacturing.”

The invention pushes the boundaries of liquid cooling up to over 1,000°C, resulting in significant technological advancements that enhance thermal cooling in nuclear power plants, engines, microelectronic chips and electronics devices. 

The impact of this work is far-reaching. Breaking the Leidenfrost effect at high temperatures also extends the temperature range of superwettablity, one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 2021. The current manifestation of superwettability is confined to a highly restricted temperature range. Prof. WANG’s ground breaking discovery dramatically extends the temperature range of superwettability above 1,000°C, unleashing limitless applications in chemistry and beyond. 

Prof. WANG said, “The driving force on research is the curiosity to see if conventional perception and theory established centuries ago can be broken. I always encourage my research team and students to be proactive, passionate and persistent. Sometimes, a small idea and experiment can be a turning point of our life and bring us to a big world. We persist in making remarkable advancements in research by answering critical scientific questions or tackling long-standing technological challenges.”