Surface micro/nanotopography, wetting properties and the potential for biomimetic icephobicity of skunk cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus

Abstract

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is known for its two remarkable properties: superhydrophobicity and thermogenesis; however, the relationship between these two properties remains obscure. Most botanists agree that thermogenesis helps to attract pollinators, while non-wetting helps to catch pollinators and prevents contamination. Here we investigate the surface micro- and nanotopography and wetting properties of eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), another thermogenic plant, which is known for its ability to melt snow. The skunk cabbage leaves are hydrophobic but not superhydrophobic, and they have high contact angle hysteresis (similar to the rose petal effect). We develop a heat transfer model to relate icephobicity with heat transfer and discuss the biomimetic potential that both thermogenic and superhydrophobic plants may have for icephobicity in soft materials.

The icephobic performance of alkyl-grafted aluminum surfaces

“…Significantly delayed ice formation [3,10,12,13,15,16,23,26] and reduced ice adhesion or accumulation [3,10,[15][16][17]19,21,25] have been reported for various SHSs. Theoretical models have also been developed, demonstrating how SHSs can delay ice formation from impinging water droplets [9,11,13], which is in good agreement with experimental work [3,14,25,26].…”

“…The formation of ice or wet-snow buildups on exposed surfaces may hinder the performance of aircraft, ships, power lines, wind turbines, offshore oil platforms and telecommunication systems [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Therefore, the prevention and control of ice accretion is of high potential in all these fields of human activity.…”

“…Therefore, the prevention and control of ice accretion is of high potential in all these fields of human activity. The design and use of surfaces/coatings with minimum ice adherence and reduced ice accumulation is still actively considered as the most appealing and universal approach to the problem [3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Most of the existing studies on anti-ice surfaces are focused on the reduction of ice adhesion strength [1,[5][6][7][8]10,[19][20][21][22][23][24] or delayed ice nucleation/formation [3,9,12,13,23,25,26].…”

“…Therefore lately the research in this area has been chiefly focused on the use and development of superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) for preventing ice formation and accumulation [4,[9][10][11][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][25][26][27][28][29]. Significantly delayed ice formation [3,10,12,13,15,16,23,26] and reduced ice adhesion or accumulation [3,10,[15][16][17]19,21,25] have been reported for various SHSs. Theoretical models have also been developed, demonstrating how SHSs can delay ice formation from impinging water droplets [9,11,13], which is in good agreement with experimental work [3,14,25,26].…”

Anti-Icing Superhydrophobic Surfaces: Controlling Entropic Molecular Interactions to Design Novel Icephobic Concrete

“…It was also suggested to mimic thermogenic plants, such as lotus or the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). The latter is found in cold climates and it is known for its ability to melt the snow [28].…”