The plant leaf of Salvinia molesta can retain an air layer underwater due to the hydrophobic and elastic eggbeater-shaped hairs on its surface, which have potential applications in thermal insulation devices. In this research, terry fabrics are explored to mimic the air-retaining ability of the salvinia leaf for potential application in overwater life-saving appliances. The surface structure of the fabric is analyzed and the superhydrophobicity is obtained by hydrophobic treatment combined with microscale roughness brought by the fabric texture. The air volume change and the thermal insulation tests demonstrated that terry fabrics, F1 and F3, can retain an air layer on their surfaces and hold air in between the fibers and inside the loops for a long time underwater, which would provide thermal insulation and buoyancy force—the two key features of life-saving appliances.
BarthlottWMailMBhushanBet al.Plant surfaces: structures and functions for biomimetic innovations. Nano-Micro Lett2017; 9: 40–40.
2.
SunTLFengLGaoXFet al.Bioinspired surfaces with special wettability. Acc Chem Res2005; 38: 644–652.
3.
KochKBhushanBBarthlottW. Diversity of structure, morphology and wetting of plant surfaces. Soft Matter2008; 4: 1943–1963.
4.
BalmertABohnHFDitsche-KuruPet al.Dry under water: comparative morphology and functional aspects of air-retaining insect surfaces. J Morphol2011; 272: 442–451.
5.
Ditsche-KuruPSchneiderESMelskotteJ-Eet al.Superhydrophobic surfaces of the water bug Notonecta glauca: a model for friction reduction and air retention. Beilstein J Nanotechnol2011; 2: 137–144.
6.
BarthlottWSchimmelTWierschSet al.The Salvinia paradox: superhydrophobic surfaces with hydrophilic pins for air retention under water. Adv Mater2010; 22: 2325–2328.
7.
MayserMJBohnHFRekerMet al.Measuring air layer volumes retained by submerged floating-ferns Salvinia and biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces. Beilstein J Nanotechnol2014; 5: 812–821.
8.
DitschePGorbEMayserMet al.Elasticity of the hair cover in air-retaining Salvinia surfaces. Appl Phys A Mater Sci Process2015; 121: 505–511.
9.
MayserMJBarthlottW. Layers of air in the water beneath the floating fern Salvinia are exposed to fluctuations in pressure. Integr Comp Biol2014; 54: 1001–1007.
10.
GandyraDWalheimSGorbSet al.The capillary adhesion technique: a versatile method for determining the liquid adhesion force and sample stiffness. Beilstein J Nanotechnol2015; 6: 11–18.
11.
TricinciOTerencioTMazzolaiBet al.3D micropatterned surface inspired by Salvinia molesta via direct laser lithography. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces2015; 7: 25560–25567.
12.
KavalenkaMNVulliersFLischkerSet al.Bioinspired air-retaining nanofur for drag reduction. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces2015; 7: 10651–10655.
13.
RohrigMMailMSchneiderMet al.Nanofur for biomimetic applications. Adv Mater Interfaces2014; 1: 10–10.
14.
KavalenkaMNVullersFKumbergJet al.Adaptable bioinspired special wetting surface for multifunctional oil/water separation. Sci Rep2017; 7: 1–10.
15.
Di MundoRBottiglioneFPalumboFet al.Filamentary superhydrophobic Teflon surfaces: moderate apparent contact angle but superior air-retaining properties. J Colloid Interface Sci2016; 482: 175–182.
16.
LeeCKimC-J. Wetting and active dewetting processes of hierarchically constructed superhydrophobic surfaces fully immersed in water. J Microelectromech Syst2012; 21: 712–720.
17.
HemedaAATafreshiHV. General formulations for predicting longevity of submerged superhydrophobic surfaces composed of pores or posts. Langmuir2014; 30: 10317–10327.
18.
McHaleGNewtonMIShirtcliffeNJ. Immersed superhydrophobic surfaces: gas exchange, slip and drag reduction properties. Soft Matter2010; 6: 714–719.
19.
HuntJBhushanB. Nanoscale biomimetics studies of Salvinia molesta for micropattern fabrication. J Colloid Interface Sci2011; 363: 187–192.
20.
YangCYYangCYSungCK. Enhancing air retention by biomimicking Salvinia molesta structures. Jpn J Appl Phys2013; 52: 6–6.
21.
BarthlottWNeinhuisC. Purity of the sacred lotus, or escape from contamination in biological surfaces. Planta1997; 202: 1–8.
22.
FengLLiSHLiYSet al.Super-hydrophobic surfaces: from natural to artificial. Adv Mater2002; 14: 1857–1860.
SolgaACermanZStrifflerBFet al.The dream of staying clean: lotus and biomimetic surfaces. Bioinspir Biomim2007; 2: S126–S134.
25.
EllisonMS. Biomimetic textiles. In: Bioinspiration, biomimetics, and bioreplication2013; 8686: 4–4.
26.
EadieLGhoshTK. Biomimicry in textiles: past, present and potential. An overview. J R Soc Interface2011; 8: 761–775.
27.
AhmadIKanCW. A review on development and applications of bio-inspired superhydrophobic textiles. Materials2016; 9: 1–34.
28.
SarkarMFanJTSzetoYCet al.Biomimetics of plant structure in textile fabrics for the improvement of water transport properties. Text Res J2009; 79: 657–668.
29.
DucharmeMBLounsburyDS. Self-rescue swimming in cold water: the latest advice. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab2007; 32: 799–807.
RamiresMLVCastroCANNagasakaYet al.Standard reference data for the thermal conductivity of water. J Phys Chem Ref Data1995; 24: 1377–1381.
32.
StephanKLaeseckeA. The thermal conductivity of fluid air. J Phys Chem Ref Data1985; 14: 227–234.
33.
YangY. Physical properties of polymers handbook, New York: Springer New York, 2007, pp. 158–158.
34.
KissaE. Handbook of fiber sciencce and technology volume 2: chemical processing of fibers and fabrics, United States of America: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1984, pp. 509–509.
35.
ZhengYWZhouXXingZQet al.Fabrication of a superhydrophobic surface with underwater air-retaining properties by electrostatic flocking. RSC Adv2018; 8: 10719–10726.
36.
ChengYTRodakDEAngelopoulosAet al.Microscopic observations of condensation of water on lotus leaves. Appl Phys Lett2005; 87: 3–3.
37.
FanJShangXM. Fractal heat transfer in wool fiber hierarchy. Heat Transf Res2013; 44: 399–407.
