Film condensation is currently used by industry, while dropwise condensation is an alternative that is under development.

Dropwise condensation offers attractive higher rates of heat transfer by preventing the build up of the insulating liquid layer found in film condensation.

Dropwise condensation is when liquid drops are formed on the subcooled surface, and usually occurs when the liquid does not wet the surface.

Dropwise condensation is difficult to sustain reliably; therefore, industrial equipment is normally designed to operate in filmwise condensation mode.

By changing the functional group on these SAMs, the surface properties can be modified to get hydrophobic areas, and thus can be employed as dropwise condensation promoters.