Fabrication of artificial super-hydrophobic lotus-leaf-like bamboo surfaces through soft lithography

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces. A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects Physicochemical and engineering aspects, 2017-01, Vol.513, p.389-395
• Main Authors: Wang, Fapeng, Li, Song, Wang, Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bamboo surface; Lotus leaf; Soft lithography; Super-hydrophobicity
• ISSN: 0927-7757; 1873-4359
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2016.11.001

A lotus-leaf-like rough surface was biomimeticly prepared on bamboo surfaces by transfer technology of soft lithography. The fresh lotus leaf and PDMS were as a template and seal. The bamboo could have a hydrophobic and low adhesion ability similar to lotus leaves after twice replications and transcriptions. [Display omitted] •Lotus-leaf-like microstructure surfaces were built on bamboo surfaces using soft lithography.•Soft lithography is a kind of effective and widely used method to fabricate micro/nano superhydrophobic structures.•The lotus-leaf like bamboo can effectively prevent moisture to invasion of bamboo, and improve the dimensional stability.•It opens up a new way for the researches of functional bamboos and will broaden the application prospects of bamboo.•It can prolong the bamboos’ service life, and alleviate the contradiction between the supply and the demand of timber. The surfaces of plants represent multifunctional interfaces between the organisms and the environment. The paper reports an experimental method to improve the bamboo properties, in terms of hydrophobicity, and resistance to water absorption. The soft lithography technique was used to modify the bamboo surface, transferring over it a lotus-leaf-like topography, based on a micro/nano hierarchical structure using fresh lotus leaves as the template and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for seal. Results describe a characterization based on topographical, chemical and water contact angle analysis. The super-hydrophobicity of lotus-like bamboo surfaces were analyzed by virtue of WCA and the microstructures observed by means of SEM, showing a WCA of 156.5° close to that of the lotus leaf’s 160.5°, and rough surface structures with micro-nano papillate hills on bamboo surfaces. Water droplets could easily roll down on such bamboo surfaces, exhibiting super-hydrophobic and low adhesion properties. The successful fabrication of lotus-leaf-like bamboos provided a new direction for researches on the water corrosion resistance of bamboos, which could effectively prevent the damage of moisture to bamboos.