Summary
External surfaces in plants and animals are decorated by complex nano- and micro-structures that promote multifunctionality. Such natural examples offer sources of inspiration toward biomimetic engineering of novel materials with advanced physico-chemical properties for applications ranging from photonics to biomedicine. In particular, the epicuticular wax-based coatings on plant leaves and insect bodies will be the main source of inspiration for the research during this PhD. The research will be conducted in four main areas:
(i) The project will characterise the nano/micro-scale topographies of various natural patterned surfaces. A range of analytical and advanced microscopy tools will be employed for these characterisations.
(ii) Friction reduction and antifouling performance of natural surfaces will be analysed in the vicinity of contaminated water sources and wet environments. Continuous flow and isolated impacting droplets of pure and contaminated water solutions will be investigated experimentally in this step.
(iii) Inspired by the chemical and physical composition of the analysed natural surfaces, biomimetic sustainable coatings will be fabricated. Diverse natural and purified waxes will be used in the fabrication of the coatings.
(iv) Finally, antifouling performance and mechanical/chemical durability of the manufactured coatings will be tested using the methods developed for the natural surfaces.
Findings of this project will not only enrich our limited understanding of complex natural surfaces and their functionality but advance the design and fabrication of novel sustainable functional coatings.