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Professor Konrad Rykaczewski of University of the State of Arizona (ASU) is studying wettability, or how water interacts with solids, to develop surfaces for industrial applications. After moving to the Sonoran Desert six years ago, Professor Rykaczewski sprayed the plants in his front yard to study their interaction with the droplets.
"It was the first time I lived in a desert and I was fascinated by flora and fauna," said Professor Rykaczewski. "What I 've noticed about prickly pears cactus, is that the new pads are superhydrophobic, but those who have one season less, just below them, are superhydrophilic. . I wondered why.
Through a start-up grant from the ASU's biomimetry center, Professor Rykaczewski and a team of students began experimenting in laboratory to characterize the 3D epidermal microscopic structure of prickly pears at dry periods. and wet.
The study found that the new cactus pads have a waxy and hydrophobic continuous surface, while the older ones are covered with a network of microcracks. Kenneth Manning, a PhD student of the project who led the experimental work, explained that these microscopic cracks "go down through the wax up to the cell wall," which is hydrophilic.
With the help of a high-speed video, the researchers observed the water droplets bouncing off the young cactus pads. Among the older pads, however, the microcracks exposed the internal hydrophilic surface, which caused the water droplets to collide. "The skin acts like a smart membrane," Manning said. "As the cacti dry up, the cracks close and help preserve the water."
The findings of the study are now used to document Manning's latest research project, in which he develops a smart material for hazardous material combinations. The pores of the material will close in the presence of hazardous chemicals. Otherwise, the pores will remain open to allow the transfer of steam and heat out of the Hazmat combination, which is a limitation for the currently used Hazmat combinations.
The costumes will mimic the elegant skins of fig cacti. "It's the same kind of change in the morphology of the surface," Manning said.
The research will be presented to the American Physical Society71st Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics in Atlanta, Georgia.
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor
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