Water Repellent Surfaces

The Lotus Leaf has a natural tendency to repel water. A very useful trait for a water based plant to have, as otherwise there would be a great likelihood of the flower and plant not surviving in the marshy waters. The surface of the lotus flower tends to let water slide right off without absorbing it. This is a principle which has inspired a number of liquid repellent projects in science laboratories worldwide.

The latest study in engineering a surface which un-sticks water droplets comes from Penn State Materials Research Institute, where the researchers have developed the first nano, micro-textured highly slippery surface that can work even with tiny water molecules or even water vapour form.

Tak-Sing Wong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and a faculty member at the institute said that the work  represented a fundamentally new concept in engineered surfaces. Mobility of liquid droplets on rough surfaces is highly dependent on how the liquid wets the surface. We have demonstrated for the first time experimentally that liquid droplets can be highly mobile when in the Wenzel state, Wong added.

There are many practical applications of liquid repellent surfaces from water harvesting in arid areas, to heat exchangers in power plants. The surface designed in this science project will have a multitude of practical uses.