Smart water channelling through dual wettability by leaves of the bamboo Phyllostachys aurea

Wigzell, James M.; Racoviţǎ, Radu C.; Stentiford, B.G.; Wilson, Mark R.; Harris, Matt; Fletcher, Ian; Mosquin, Daniel P. K.; Justice, Douglas; Beaumont, Simon K.; Jetter, Reinhard; Badyal, J. P. S.

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2016.06.058

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…This was confirmed with the wettability studies on the peanut leaf, Namib desert grass Stipagrostis sabulicola , and holm‐oak leaf, which documents their ability to harvest water from fogs . Inspired by nature, potential fog harvesting concepts with superhydrophilic wettability and 3D hierarchical structuring were put forth to tackle the increasing water shortage and scarcity issues . Atmospheric water harvesting has the advantage of being cost‐effective and fast compared to the tedious desalination and filtration systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…The superhydrophobic zones were used to channel the water, which collected upon the superhydrophilic zones. Also, studies on the bamboo Phyllostachys aurea highlighted the concept of smart channeling using hydrophilic and hydrophobic channels for potential fog and dew harvesting . The T. pallida inspired water harvesting design combines two means of harvesting water simultaneously and then permits smart channeling thereby creating a highly efficient and smart dual way water harvesting and channeling design.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization and Bioreplication of Tradescantia pallida Inspired Biomimetic Superwettability for Dual Way Patterned Water Harvesting

Suvindran

Pan

et al. 2018

Adv Materials Inter

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Biomimicry elucidates nature's faultless synchronization of structure with function inspiring researchers to create designs that can achieve maximum performance with minimalistic resource exhaustion. Nature has evolved the invasive species Tradescantia pallida (T. pallida) with the ability to survive in drought lands. Since this species requires humidity to survive in those conditions it can be inferred that the T. pallida partakes of foliar atmospheric water harvesting. Herein, the wettability is tested with the study establishing that the leaf exhibits para‐hydrophobicity while demonstrating a static contact angle of 165°, whereas the morphological characterization reveals a complex hierarchical sculpturing with macroscale trichomes and parallel venations. Moreover, it is identified that the foliar water uptake occurs via the para‐hydrophobic surface and the hydrophobic trichomes subsequently guiding the water along the parallel channels creating a leaf that has an efficient dual way water harvesting system. These features render it capable of surviving in any habitat that validates nature's perfect unification of structure and function. Such multifunctional surfaces are a rarity thereby making them desirable for smart water harvesting designs. Thus inspired, a replica is developed which mimics the wettability with functional artificial trichomes and a potential dual way patterned water harvesting concept is presented.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization and Bioreplication of Tradescantia pallida Inspired Biomimetic Superwettability for Dual Way Patterned Water Harvesting

Suvindran

Pan

et al. 2018

Adv Materials Inter

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“…One mechanism is the formation of contiguous hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas on the bamboo leaf to channel water on the leaf surface. 38 Another mechanism is found on the leaves of many tropical plants. 39 Each leaf has a drip tip that efficiently runs water from the leaf and lets it dry quickly.…”

Section: Bioinspirationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building-integrated photo-voltaics: market challenges and bioinspired solutions

Klysner

Lenau

Lakhtakia

2021

Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication XI

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We have heavily relied for a few centuries on fossil fuels, which are basically dead plant material that was sequestered and converted millions of years ago, but the rapidly increasing energy demand combined with climatic challenges means we need to develop a large-scale supply of energy from sources without climatic impact. An obvious choice is to use solar energy directly when possible, and a complete global transition to solar energy by 2050 is realistic and cost effective. However, in order to find space for the large areas needed for harvesting solar energy by photovoltaic means, it would be advantageous if solar panels could be incorporated into urban buildings and free land for other uses. We undertook an analysis of the needs and requirements from the building industry that will allow for a more widespread use of solar panels on buildings, also referred to as Building Integrated Photo-Voltaics. Specifications and options for the visual incorporation of the solar panels in the building envelope were identified. Special attention was paid to (i) the role of modularization and standardization in architecture and (ii) the role of color and reflectance. A standardized mounting system is proposed that will allow for modular attachment of solar panels, making it easy to adjust, repair, and replace individual panels. Biological inspiration can be used to improve the system further. The forced-air ventilation of the tunnels of prairie dogs shows how to enhance cooling. The non-iridescent wings of butterflies of the Morpho genus, proposes how a low-cost structurally colored film can be inserted into the solar panel during its assembly.

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“…water channeling and self-cleaning. [48] Many of the plants surface are entirely hydrophilic whereas, oppositely, lotus leaves (Nelumbo nucifera) and red rose petals (Rosa moyesii) possess highly hydrophobic characteristics. In general, the wettability of the surface is measured by contact angle measurements.…”

Section: Surface Wettability and Functionalization: General Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Wrinkling and Porosity of Polymer Particles toward Biological and Biomedical Applications

Visaveliya

Leishman

et al. 2017

Adv Materials Inter

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Polymer particles are promising particulate materials for renowned biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery, tissue engineering and biosensing. Surface properties of the polymer particles are of key importance for biomedical applications because they directly interact with biological systems. Particularly, wrinkled as well as porous surfaces possess an enhanced ability for cell attachment without any additional chemical modification. Therefore, a key objective is to fabricate the particles with desired degree of wrinkles and porosity.Many methods such as solvent evaporation, plasma treatment, emulsion instability, and electro-spraying are being employed for the generation of porous, wrinkled and/or textured surfaces. Advantageously, an application of microfluidics can support the induction of surface instabilities on droplets in a case of droplet-based systems. Furthermore, microfluidics allows tuning of size and shape of the generated droplets as well as particles with desired surface textures. In this mini-review article, surface characteristics (especially surface wrinkles and porosity) of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymer particles are presented for the potential applications toward biological as well as biomedical field. In addition, the impact of microfluidics is highlighted in order to produce the polymer particles of functional surface properties.

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Smart water channelling through dual wettability by leaves of the bamboo Phyllostachys aurea

Cited by 17 publications

References 62 publications

Characterization and Bioreplication of Tradescantia pallida Inspired Biomimetic Superwettability for Dual Way Patterned Water Harvesting

Characterization and Bioreplication of Tradescantia pallida Inspired Biomimetic Superwettability for Dual Way Patterned Water Harvesting

Building-integrated photo-voltaics: market challenges and bioinspired solutions

Surface Wrinkling and Porosity of Polymer Particles toward Biological and Biomedical Applications

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