Self-assembly of Eucalyptus gunnii wax tubules and pure ß-diketone on HOPG and glass

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 939–949, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.70

• multifunctional wax coating on their surfaces made of branched ß-diketone tubules. ß-diketone tubules have a different size, shape, and chemical composition than the well-described nonacosanol tubules of the superhydrophobic leaves of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). Until now the formation process of ß-diketone tubules

• determining too, as shown for nonacosanol tubules [15][25]. Nonacosanol tubules could only be crystallized with the addition of a specific amount (>2% of mass) of alkandiols [25]. Our results showed that pure ß-diketone alone formed tubules and no additional compound was needed. We, therefore, conclude that

• formation on polar and non-polar substrates was also carried out for nonacosanol tubules [27]. In that study it was shown that the polarity of the substrate had an influence on the formation and the orientation of the tubules: On polar silicon wafers, randomly orientated tubules grew on top of thick crusts

Kinetics of solvent supported tubule formation of Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) wax on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) investigated by atomic force microscopy

• Sujit Kumar Dora,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Wilhelm Barthlott and
• Klaus Wandelt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 468–481, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.45

• ; crystallization; epicuticular wax; Lotus; Nelumbo nucifera; nonacosanol tubules; self-assembly; superhydrophobic; Introduction The plant cuticle, a cutin matrix embedded and covered by waxes provides a multitasking interface between plant and environment [1]. These waxes are either reside within the cutin layer

Superhydrophobicity in perfection: the outstanding properties of the lotus leaf

• Hans J. Ensikat,
• Petra Ditsche-Kuru,
• Christoph Neinhuis and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 152–161, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.19

• thicker (ca. 150 nm) and are typical ‘nonacosanol tubules’ which commonly occur on many plant species [7]. In contrast, the wax tubules of the upper leaf side are very short (0.3–1 µm) and thin (80–120 nm) but the density is very high. Figure 10 shows on a clearly arranged area, approximately 200 tubules