{"id":23797,"date":"2018-04-18T12:04:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T16:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=23797"},"modified":"2022-03-16T12:03:15","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T16:03:15","slug":"beetles-plants-efficient-water-harvesting-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/beetles-plants-efficient-water-harvesting-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Beetles and Plants Inspire Efficient Water-Harvesting Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team of researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas and Penn State University has <\/span>developed a surface<\/span><\/a> that can rapidly collect water molecules from fog and air vapor and direct them toward a reservoir along lubricated microgrooves. <\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers drew inspiration for the design of their \u201chydrophilic directional slippery surface,\u201d or SRS, from the process by which living organisms such as desert beetles, pitcher plants and rice leaves naturally collect and direct water.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExisting processes for creating fresh water, such as desalination, rely on the transition from vapor to water,\u201d <\/span>Simon Dai<\/span><\/a>, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UT Dallas, said in a statement. \u201cWe wanted to create a surface that can both capture and direct water droplets efficiently.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The full study is published in the journal <\/span>Science Advances<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Inspiration<\/b><\/h2>\n

In designing their technology, the researchers examined some of the best water-harvesting techniques in nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, they observed hydrophilic surfaces on the shells of certain desert beetles and on pitcher plants and rice leaves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDesert beetles used hydrophilic bumps to absorb water droplets from fogs, and also used patterned hydrophobic waxes to remove those droplets for drinking,\u201d said Dai.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the hydrophilic bumps on desert beetles demonstrate how to collect and combine water droplets from the air, the slippery surfaces of pitcher plants and the miniscule directional grooves on rice leaves demonstrate how to quickly direct the water droplets toward a reservoir. <\/span><\/p>\n

The combination of these natural designs creates a surface capable of both capturing and directing water droplets efficiently. <\/span><\/p>\n

The second part — directing the water droplets — is critical because it ensures that no water is lost to evaporation during the harvesting process. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe found desert beetles cannot fully use the surface because the hydrophobic domains are not good,\u201d said Dai. \u201cTherefore, we developed a surface that can be fully utilized for water capture, and in the meantime can remove the harvested water rapidly, so we need a hydrophilic and slippery surface.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Technology<\/b><\/h2>\n

The researchers constructed a surface and etched directional, nano-sized structures into it. They then coated the surface with a hydrophilic liquid lubricant. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe found through simulations that molecules that attract water \u2014 or hydroxy functional groups \u2014 are the most efficient in capturing water droplets,\u201d <\/span>Steven Nielsen<\/span><\/a>, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UT Dallas and co-author of the study, said in a statement.<\/span> \u201cThat\u2019s why we used hydrophilic lubricant.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers had to ensure that once applied to the surface, the lubricant would be uniformly retained and that it would not mix with the water.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lubricant serves a dual purpose by attracting water and creating a slippery surface, so the water droplets that form can easily move down and combine to make larger droplets. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe infused our directional rough surfaces with hydrophilic liquid lubricant that is molecularly mobile, so it can help the collected water coalesce into larger drops,\u201d Dai said in a statement. \u201cFurthermore, the material is scalable. Unlike the beetle-inspired surfaces where water droplet creation only occurs in specific areas, we can create small or large surfaces, all with the ability to trap and move water quickly everywhere on the surface.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The combination of directional grooves and the hydrophilic slippery surface proved to be more effective at capturing and directing water droplets than comparable surfaces. <\/span><\/p>\n