ENGLISH
|
JAPANESE
|
CONNECT WITH US:
Home
About
Contact
Log in
*
Home
Press release
Sep 16, 2021 07:00 JST
Source:
Jilin University
Copying the small structures of Salvinia leaves
Researchers at Jilin University, China, reviewed recent progress in the study of Salvinia leaves and their artificial replicas.
CHANGCHUN, CHINA, Sep 16, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Several plants and animals have evolved surfaces with long-term (i.e., days to months) air-retainability to prevent wetting and submersion. One example is Salvinia, a plant floating on water. The secret "how do they maintain an air-mattress" has been unraveled by researchers.
Salvinia leaves and the eggbeater structures
Researchers at Jilin University reviewed recent progress in the study of Salvinia leaves and their artificial replicas. "Salvinia has complex multicellular hairs on the upper side of its leaves, and each group of four hairs is connected at the terminal ends, forming an eggbeater structure. The hairs are coated with hydrophobic wax crystals, while the patches at the terminal ends of the hairs lack wax crystals and are, therefore, hydrophilic. These features make the air-water interface more stable, exhibiting long-term air-retention ability," says author Huichao Jin of Jilin University in Changchun, China.
Since the air-retention ability of Salvinia leaves was discovered, researchers began to fabricate artificial Salvinia leaves and investigated their potential applications. However, the complex eggbeater structures present a difficult challenge for traditional manufacturing methods. In the past decade, photolithography, direct laser lithography, chemical vapor deposition, electrodeposition, electrostatic flocking, 3D printing, chemical etching, and plasma etching recently have been developed for fabricating Salvinia-inspired structures. However, the complex structures make many of these techniques unable to replicate the fine structures. Although direct laser lithography and 3D printing techniques succeed in fabricating fine structures, they cannot fabricate the hydrophilic tips at the end of hairs. Therefore, it is still challenging to fabricate artificial Salvinia leaves.
The robust air-mattress in Salvinia structures acts as a physical barrier for water to reach the substrate. This inspires many engineering applications, including drag reduction, water harvesting, evaporation, and repellence, oil/water separation, and thermal insulation. These works are currently limited to early laboratory demonstrations. There are still challenges in the development of artificial surfaces suitable for the complexity and variability of the real environment.
Jin and his colleagues are exploring the potential of Salvinia structures in preventing medical bacterial infection. "The air-mattress acts as a physical barrier for water to approach the substrate, and it can also act as a physical barrier for preventing bacteria reach substrates," says Jin. He points that traditional antibacterial surfaces involving antibiotics may cause drug resistance while the artificial Salvinia-inspired surfaces are free of antibiotics. Employing Salvinia structures to prevent medical bacterial infection may be a promising strategy.
Article details:
Jin et al., "Small structure, large effect: Functional surfaces inspired by Salvinia leaves" Small Structures (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202100079
Contact:
Dr. Huichao Jin
Jilin University
Email:
jinhc@jlu.edu.cn
Press release distributed by Asia Research News for Jilin University.
Source: Jilin University
Sectors: Science & Nanotech
Copyright ©2024 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
Latest Release
JCB enables JCB Contactless acceptance at Taichung MRT in Taiwan
Apr 26, 2024 10:00 JST
Mazda Production and Sales Results for March 2024 and for April 2023 through March 2024
Apr 25, 2024 18:21 JST
MHI Begins Operation of SOEC Test Module the Next-Generation High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Technology at Takasago Hydrogen Park
Apr 25, 2024 17:45 JST
GAC Honda to Begin Sales of All-new e:NP2, the Second Model of e:N Series
Apr 25, 2024 16:50 JST
Toyota Exhibiting at Beijing Motor Show 2024
Apr 25, 2024 16:25 JST
Honda Reaches Basic Agreement with Asahi Kasei on Collaboration for Production of Battery Separators for Automotive Batteries in Canada
Apr 25, 2024 11:10 JST
UNIQLO Sponsors KAWS + Warhol Exhibition Tour, Starting in Pittsburgh
Apr 25, 2024 09:00 JST
Mitsubishi Power Begins Commercial Operation of Seventh M701JAC Gas Turbine in Thailand GTCC Project; Achieves 75,000 AOH To-Date
Apr 24, 2024 17:19 JST
MC and Denka Sign J/V Agreement in Fullerene Business
Apr 24, 2024 17:02 JST
Mitsubishi Motors Posts Record Sales in the Philippines in FY2023
Apr 24, 2024 13:56 JST
NEC Develops High-speed Generative AI Large Language Models (LLM) with World-class Performance
Apr 24, 2024 13:25 JST
Fujitsu SX Survey reveals key success factors for sustainability
Apr 23, 2024 10:25 JST
Fujitsu and METRON collaborate to drive ESG success: slashing energy costs, boosting productivity with new manufacturing industry solutions
Apr 22, 2024 16:09 JST
NEC Strengthens Commitment to Space Industry with Investment in Seraphim Space Venture Fund II
Apr 22, 2024 15:09 JST
Soft Space Launches the First and Only JCB Payment Gateway in Malaysia
Apr 22, 2024 15:00 JST
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes a one-two in Croatian thriller
Apr 22, 2024 10:47 JST
First-ever Mazda CX-80 Crossover SUV Unveiled in Europe
Apr 19, 2024 13:50 JST
Fujitsu develops technology to convert corporate digital identity credentials, enabling participation of non-European companies in European data spaces
Apr 19, 2024 10:17 JST
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NGK to Jointly Develop Hydrogen Purification System from Ammonia Cracking Gas
Apr 18, 2024 17:01 JST
Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan
Apr 18, 2024 13:39 JST
More Latest Release >>