Plastron properties of a superhydrophobic surface

Shirtcliffe, Neil, McHale, Glen, Newton, Michael, Perry, Carole and Pyatt, F. Brian (2006) Plastron properties of a superhydrophobic surface. Applied Physics Letters, 89 (10). pp. 104106-104108. ISSN 0003-6951

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2347266

Abstract

Most insects and spiders drown when submerged during flooding or tidal inundation, but some are able to survive and others can remain submerged indefinitely without harm. Many achieve this by natural adaptations to their surface morphology to trap films of air, creating plastrons which fix the water-vapor interface and provide an incompressible oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange surface. Here the authors demonstrate how the surface of an extremely water-repellent foam mimics this mechanism of underwater respiration and allows direct extraction of oxygen from aerated water. The biomimetic principle demonstrated can be applied to a wide variety of man-made superhydrophobic materials.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: plastron, superhydrophobic,water repellent, biomimetic
Subjects: C100 Biology
F100 Chemistry
F200 Materials Science
F300 Physics
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Depositing User: Glen McHale
Date Deposited: 23 Aug 2012 13:20
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 12:49
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/8324

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