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Jacob Shahidi Professor Menke Physics 18 April 23, 2012 Literature Review: Reproduction of the Lotus Leaf Abstract: The lotus leaf has been studied since the early 1960s. The reason for such research is due to a phenomenon called the lotus leaf effect. The lotus leaf has a unique ability where it has extremely high water repellency and that causes water particles to interact less with the surface of the leaf by the complex nanoscopic structure of the surface. Success in this field of research has lead nanotechnologists to develop treatments, coatings, paints, roof tiles, and fabrics that all have surfaces that have very little friction and can even self heal from damage. Even though these breakthroughs have helped domestic causes their scientific benefit is also present in the micro-fluidic devices that can greatly improve surface-based bio-analysis (Ressine). Literature Review: Research of the lotus effect has been done as early as the 1970s. A man by the name of Dr. Wilhelm Barthlott began his career back in 1974 when he was an assistant professor at the Institute of Systematic Botany. There he studied the application of high resolution scanning electron microscopy in systematic, structure, and function of plant structure. His research led him to the super-hydrophobic, super-hydrophilic, and self cleaning properties of several plant surfaces. They found that several plant surfaces have multiple-length-scale roughness, formed by hairs; convent epidermal cells, and superimposed three dimensional waxes (Neinhuis C, Barthlott W). They found such formations in a lotus leaf. Lotus leafs are extremely hydrophobic due to having randomly oriented small hydrophobic wax tubules that lie on top concave cell papillae. The function of such structures is that the airs in the concave cells interact with a foreign liquid which in turn reduces the interaction between the actual surface of the leaf and the foreign liquid. This type of interaction causes foreign liquid (such as rain water) to form

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small droplets which can then move relatively freely and clean the plant (Barthlott W, Neinhuis C). This breakthrough eventually led to a new model of non-ideal sough solid surfaces. The Cassie-Baxter model of wetting which superseded the Wenzel model stated that a foreign liquid interacts completely with the concave wells of the surface. This depicts the findings of Barthlotts research. After having the structure of the lotus revealed, another doctor envisioned the replication of such a hydrophobic surface. Dr. Tak-Sing Wong, and her research team have developed a way to mimic the lotus effect. At first they attempted to mimic the original structure of the lotus, where the surface is riddled with concave wells and trapped air interacts with foreign substances. This idea however has problems. The man made textures are extremely difficult to synthesis and it causes damage to the surface and fabrication imperfections. Although they can be improved upon by adding complex structures it lowers the physical stability, optical properties and increases the expense of the fabrication (Tuteja). With these road blocks in front of them the team had to think of another method. Their inspiration came from the Nepenthes pitcher plant. This plant uses the structures not as a primary method of repelling foreign liquids but instead using them to house an intermediary liquid that acts as a repellent (Wong, Kang and Tang). They named their repellent surface SLIPS, which stands for slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces and the method they used to make the SLIPS successfully avoided the drawbacks they encountered with the previous method. They work as a liquid film that can cover any surface. The unique ability of this film to self heal makes it extremely versatile. It can be used almost anywhere where there are extreme temperatures and

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pressure conditions. They can be applied in harsh environments such as polar or deep sea explorations (Kramer). Even though these SLIPS have great potential, they have their short comings as well. Their main problem is that the lubricant itself is not as durable as it should be. It needs to be able to stay on top of its applied surface without evaporating or leaking. The study of the lotus effect has extremely versatile applications and its study from Barthlott to Wong has made great advancements. The next hurdle that must be leaped is that Wongs lubricant must be immiscible in both water and oil, while still keeping all of its properties intact (Nosonovsky).

References: Barthlott W, Neinhuis C 1997 The purity of sacred lotus or escape from contamination in biological surfaces. Planta. 202, 18. Kramer, Daniel J. THe Harvard Crimson. 26 September 2011. 24 April 2012 <http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/9/26/slips-surface-liquid-wong/>. Neinhuis C, Barthlott W 1997 Characterization and distribution of waterrepellent, self-cleaning plant surfaces. Ann. Bot. 79, 667677. Ressine, A.; Marko-Varga, G., Laurell, T. (2007). Biotechnology Annual Review. Biotechnology Annual Review 13: 149200. Tuteja, A. Designing superoleophobic surfaces. Science 318, 1618-1622 Wong, Tak-Sing, et al. "Nature." Bioinspired self-repairing slippery surfaces with pressure-stable omniphobicity (2011): 443-447. Nosonovsky, Michael. Nature. Materials science: Slippery when wetted (2011): 412-413.