Self-cleaning walls, counter tops, fabrics, even micro-robots that can walk on water -- all those things and more could be closer to reality thanks to research completed by scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and at Japan's RIKEN institute. In nature, organisms like caterpillars, water striders and the lotus achieve super hydrophobia through a two-level structure -- a hydrophobic waxy surface made super hydrophobic by the addition microscopic hair-like structures that may be covered by even smaller hairs, greatly increasing the surface area of the organism and making it impossible for water droplets to stick... [more]
Source : University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Self-cleaning materials, water-striding robots hydrophobic waxy made super hydrophobic with microscopic hair-like structures
