It turns out that when it comes to keeping its hygiene, the Asian lotus plant is quite specialized in making sure it’s free of water and dirt. Self-cleaning and non-adhering coatings, modeled after the lotus plant, might one day be used on implanted medgadgets:
Despite growing in muddy conditions, the leaves and flowers remain clean because their surfaces are composed of micron- and nano-scale structures that — along with a waxy coating — prevent dirt and water from adhering. Despite their unusual surface properties, the rough surfaces allow photosynthesis to continue in the leaves.
“When rain hits the leaves of the lotus plant, it simply beads up,” noted C.P. Wong, a Regents Professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. “When the leaves are also tilted at a small angle, the beads of water run off instantaneously. While the water is rolling off, it carries away any dirt on the surface…”
The plant’s ability to repel water and dirt results from an unusual combination of a superhydrophobic (water-repelling) surface and a combination of micron-scale hills and valleys and nanometer-scale waxy bumps that create rough surfaces that don’t give water or dirt a chance to adhere.
“Because of the combination of nano-scale and micron-scale structures, water droplets can only contact about three percent of the surface,” Wong said. “They’re just not touching very much of the lotus surface as compared to a smooth surface.”
To address several unique applications, Georgia Tech researchers have attempted to duplicate the two-tier lotus surface using a variety of materials, including polybutadiene. But that organic compound isn’t suitable for coatings that are exposed to sunlight because ultraviolet radiation breaks down its carbon bonds. So to address their first lotus application — self-cleaning insulators used on high-voltage power lines — the researchers had to develop another material.
Supported by the National Electric Energy Testing Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC), that project would solve a problem that plagues electric utilities. The build-up of dirt and dust on ceramic or silicone insulators used by high-voltage power lines can eventually create a short circuit that can damage the electric distribution network. It’s impractical to manually clean the insulators.
Wong and collaborators Yonghao Xiu, Lingbo Zhu and Dennis Hess have developed a lotus surface able to withstand ultraviolet radiation using a combination of silicone, fluorocarbons, and inorganics such as titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide. Their prototype coating has shown excellent durability in long-term testing.
The plant’s ability to repel water and dirt results from an unusual combination of a superhydrophobic (water-repelling) surface and a combination of micron-scale hills and valleys and nanometer-scale waxy bumps that create rough surfaces that don’t give water or dirt a chance to adhere.And here’s a possible medical application:
Lotus surfaces for use in implantable medical devices to prevent cells from attaching to form blood clots. If successful, this application could replace anti-clotting materials that are coated onto implantable devices such as stents used to hold blood vessels open.
Link at Georgia Institute of Technology…