News

Tuesday 30 June 2009

Scientists explore 'nature's raincoats' at Royal Society Summer Exhibition

Nature's Raincoats has been selected for the Royal Society Summer Exhibition 2009

The surfaces of plants hold clues for super water repellent sufaces

Scientists working on ways to recreate the complex properties of natural materials are displaying their work at a prestigious national science exhibition. The physicists from Nottingham Trent University have been selected to display their work at the world renowned Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (30 June – 4 July), where their exhibit – entitled ‘Natures Raincoats’ - demonstrates the ways in which they are working to create super water repellent surfaces similar to those found in nature.

Professor Glen McHale, Dr Neil Shirtcliffe and Dr Michael Newton, from the University’s School of Science and Technology, have created the ‘Nature’s Raincoats’ exhibit in collaboration with theoretical physicists Professor Julia Yeomans and her research group from the University of Oxford. Together, their aim is to better understand the ways in which nature has evolved and adapted to interact with water, and in doing so, consider ways in which these adaptations can be recreated artificially.

Much of the team’s work is focussed on the creation of superhydrophobic surfaces – surfaces that are extremely water repellent. By observing natural phenomena such as leaves, butterfly wings, diving beetles and water spiders, they have been able to use mathematics, experiments and computer simulations to better understand nature’s own unique technologies. The team has then been able to devise various ways of creating man made materials with the same properties.

The Nature’s Raincoats exhibit incorporates live demonstrations and experiments that demonstrate the principles behind the scientist’s work.

Professor McHale and his colleagues explain how by coating surfaces with a microscopic ‘bed of nails’, materials and their interaction with water can be compared to theoretical predictions. The ‘nails’ in question are just one-to-ten millionths of a metre in diameter and give the materials remarkable superhydrophobic properties.

These and other processes have the potential for a wide and varied range of applications, from the development of self-cleaning and waterproof fabrics, to materials that would allow ships to move faster through water.

Professor McHale, said: “The field in which we’re working deals with the fascinating and challenging opportunities posed to us by the hidden details of nature. To have been given the chance to display our work and findings at the prestigious Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition really is an honour for us, and for the University.”

You can learn more about the work and science behind the exhibition at the Natures Raincoats website.