Designer surface knocks down pesky foam

Researchers designed a foam-control surface that helps bubbles stick and dissipate. ↓↓More info and references below↓↓ Bubbles are common in many industrial processes, including in bioreactors used to synthesize antibiotics. This foam buildup can gum up the works, and it can damage delicate cells when the bubbles burst. Chemical additives, like ones based on silicone, can reduce or prevent foam, but extra processing steps are required to remove them from the final product. Now, researchers have designed a metal surface with a specially designed texture that traps bubbles and encourages them to spread out and dissipate instead of accumulating into foam. In lab tests, the surface reduced foam dramatically in just 10 min. Read more: Capturing Bubbles and Preventing Foam Using Aerophilic Surfaces | Advanced Materials Interfaces https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a... Stay up to date with the most important chemistry news. Subscribe to C&EN's newsletter at cenm.ag/speakingsignup.