Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Metal Surfaces for Anti-Icing Applications
Published on: August 15, 2018
Superhydrophobic Plant Leaves: The Variation in Surface Morphologies and Wettability during the Vegetation Period
Xuelian Gou1,2, Zhiguang Guo1,2
1Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials , Hubei University , Wuhan 430090 , People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
In this paper, for the first time, the surface wettability of cloverleaves and lotus leaves with specific surface structures at different growth stages is investigated. It is found that the clover exhibits water-repellent property similar to lotus leaves. Furthermore, the alternation in wettability of cloverleaves and lotus leaves during the whole vegetation period is investigated. The water contact angles and surface morphology of the leaves are measured by means of contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The chemical composition of plant leaves is analyzed utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is found that the wettability heavily depends on the surface structures during their growth and aging procedure, which enlightens us to design and fabricate biomimetic multifunctional superhydrophobic surfaces inspired by nature.
Related Concept Videos
Basic Plant Anatomy: Roots, Stems, and Leaves
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's...
Plant Hormones
Leaving Groups
In general, in a nucleophilic substitution reaction, a nucleophile displaces a functional group, called the leaving group, from the substrate to give a substituted product. A leaving group departs the substrate molecule through heterolytic cleavage, taking the pair of electrons with it to become a relatively stable weak base in the form of an anion or a neutral molecule.
In a...
What is Variation?
The range, standard deviation, standard error, and variance are the different measures of variation.
Range: The range is the difference between its maximum and...
The Periodic Table

