Wang Li, Shu Lichun, Hu Qin, Jiang Xingliang, Yang Hang, Wang Huan, Rao Lipeng
Xuefeng Mountain Energy Equipment Safety National Observation and Research Station of Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Plant Methods. 2024 Mar 21;20(1):47. doi: 10.1186/s13007-024-01174-7.
The surfaces of lotus leaves with micro- and nano-waxy cuticle structures are superhydrophobic and possess a self-healing ability to regain hydrophobicity after damage. Inspired by this phenomenon, the problem of water-repellent coatings used in natural environments failing to perform after damage can be solved if these coatings are endowed with rapid self-repair and self-growth functions. However, there has been almost no exploration into the hydrophobicity self-repair process in lotus leaves. The changes in surface morphology during the hydrophobicity recovery process are not understood. There is a lack of research on the hydrophobicity recovery in lotus leaves. In this study, the damage and recovery experiments on lotus leaf surfaces were carried out in an artificial climate chamber, and the water repellency recovery process and typical water repellency roughness parameters regained time were obtained. Upon analyzing the differences in the recovery process of different damage types, the recovery mechanism after lotus leaf surface damage was obtained. Finally, it was found that the microscopic roughness determined the static contact angle (WCA) of the lotus leaf surface, and the nanoscopic roughness determined the rolling angle (SA). The dual factors of the recovery of the extruded epidermal tissue and the regeneration of the epidermal wax crystals determined the hydrophobicity recovery process in damaged lotus leaves.
具有微米和纳米级蜡质角质层结构的荷叶表面具有超疏水性,并且在受损后具有自我修复能力以恢复疏水性。受此现象启发,如果赋予防水涂层快速自我修复和自我生长功能,那么在自然环境中使用的防水涂层受损后失效的问题就可以得到解决。然而,对于荷叶的疏水性自我修复过程几乎没有进行过探索。人们并不了解疏水性恢复过程中表面形态的变化。目前缺乏对荷叶疏水性恢复的研究。在本研究中,在人工气候箱中对荷叶表面进行了损伤和恢复实验,得到了疏水性恢复过程以及典型疏水性粗糙度参数恢复时间。通过分析不同损伤类型恢复过程的差异,得出了荷叶表面损伤后的恢复机制。最后发现,微观粗糙度决定了荷叶表面的静态接触角(WCA),而纳米粗糙度决定了滚动角(SA)。挤压的表皮组织的恢复和表皮蜡晶体的再生这两个因素决定了受损荷叶的疏水性恢复过程。