After a rain, the carnivorous plantNepenthes it attracts with its sweet smell ants and spiders that do not count on the fact that its leaves are so slippery that they slide hopelessly towards its “jaws” to be devoured. Based on this plant, scientists from Harvard University (USA) have developeda material that repels any type of liquid, including blood and oil. This bio-inspired liquid repellency technology, unveiled in the latest issue ofNature, could have application in the transport of biomedical fluids (catheters to donate blood, etc.), the handling of fuels or the manufacture of antifreeze. It will also create self-cleaning windows, graffiti-resistant walls and better optical devices, their creators suggest.
Until now, scientists have focused their efforts on mimicking lotus leaves, which are impervious to water thanks to a series of micro-textures on their surface. But the “lotus effect” does not work well with organic or complex liquids, such as those derived from petroleum. Furthermore, if the surface is damaged, for example by frost, the droplets stop rolling on the surface and become trapped. Not forgetting that the manufacturing method is expensive.
The carnivorous plant-based strategy, however, does not use air-filled nanostructures to repel water, but insteadit is a thin layer of water that acts as a repellent. “The effect is similar to when a car makesaquaplaning, the tires sliding on the road after the rain instead of rolling “clarifies Tak-Sing Wong, co-author of the work. By using a fluid repellent surface, it is completely smooth, repairs itself and withstands cold, humidity, pressure high (675 atmospheres 7 kilometers underwater) and even a snowstorm, as scientists have found, adding to this that it is an easy to manufacture and inexpensive material.
