Directional water collection on wetted spider silk.

Nature
Yongmei ZhengLei Jiang

Abstract

Many biological surfaces in both the plant and animal kingdom possess unusual structural features at the micro- and nanometre-scale that control their interaction with water and hence wettability. An intriguing example is provided by desert beetles, which use micrometre-sized patterns of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions on their backs to capture water from humid air. As anyone who has admired spider webs adorned with dew drops will appreciate, spider silk is also capable of efficiently collecting water from air. Here we show that the water-collecting ability of the capture silk of the cribellate spider Uloborus walckenaerius is the result of a unique fibre structure that forms after wetting, with the 'wet-rebuilt' fibres characterized by periodic spindle-knots made of random nanofibrils and separated by joints made of aligned nanofibrils. These structural features result in a surface energy gradient between the spindle-knots and the joints and also in a difference in Laplace pressure, with both factors acting together to achieve continuous condensation and directional collection of water drops around spindle-knots. Submillimetre-sized liquid drops have been driven by surface energy gradients or a difference in Laplace pressu...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 3, 2013·Journal of Colloid and Interface Science·Cheng Song, Yongmei Zheng
Dec 14, 2011·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Sonja NeuhausCelestino Padeste
Jan 10, 2012·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Mingxiang LuoJoelle Frechette
Jun 27, 2012·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Won Gyu BaeKahp Y Suh
Jul 24, 2012·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Changhyun PangKahp-Yang Suh
Nov 17, 2012·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Jie FengShuhuai Yao
Jan 14, 2012·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Zhenfeng BianHexing Li
Dec 20, 2012·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Yuanjin ZhaoZhongze Gu
Jul 8, 2011·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Xueyun ZhangYongli Mi
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Apr 2, 2013·Nature Nanotechnology·Jian Yu HuangJu Li
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Dec 30, 2015·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Ying ChuQinmin Pan
Jul 15, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Qianbin WangLei Jiang
Feb 26, 2016·Nature·Kyoo-Chul ParkJoanna Aizenberg
Dec 15, 2015·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Bin SuLei Jiang
Sep 4, 2015·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Qingwen DaiXiaolei Wang
Jul 15, 2015·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Majid SoleimaniTheo G M van de Ven

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