Biologists have figured out how leaves get rid of icing. This was reported by the Kiel University press service.
“We can show that the fine hairs, the so-called trichomes, or the waxy layer on the leaves are a good way to prevent or mitigate icing,” the scientists say.
To study the interaction between ice and leaves, the authors used a cryoelectron microscope. Before such a study, the samples are not dried, but quickly frozen. They are therefore deprived of liquid water and become suitable for research in a vacuum chamber. At the same time, their structures are well preserved, which makes it possible to study them almost in their original form. So the scientists froze the leaves by briefly submerging them in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Fahrenheit and were able to isolate several defense mechanisms.
Leaves of hairy plants such as chamomile (perennis) are generally hydrophilic. Therefore, ice crystals form at their ends first, and as soon as the temperature rises again, they melt quickly as well. The main surface of the plate remains ice-free and undamaged.
On the other hand, as in some tulip species, leaf surfaces are covered with three-dimensional nanoscale waxy protrusions (Tulipa gesneriana) is superhydrophobic. Drops of water roll over them, this is especially evident in the case of the lotus. Here ice crystals can only form if the water is stopped by defects in the wax layer, but even then the layer will remain intact: the wax will be damaged.
The authors hope that studying these natural mechanisms will make it possible to create artificial anti-icing surfaces that do not require reagents.
Source: Gazeta
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