Hierarchically structured superhydrophobic flowers with low hysteresis of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor) – new design principles for biomimetic materials

• Anna J. Schulte,
• Damian M. Droste,
• Kerstin Koch and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 228–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.27

• superhydrophobic, low adhesive surface design, which combines the hierarchical structuring of petals with a wetting behavior similar to that of the lotus leaf. Keywords: anti-adhesive; petal effect; petal structures; polymer replication; superhydrophobic; Introduction Plant surfaces provide a large diversity of

• uncoated replicas (Figure 2; 1b–4b). Accordingly, the structural parameters were collected on the uncoated replicas. Differences between the petal structures could be found in the dimensions of papillae and folds. Rosar and Violar are characterized by relatively sharp micropapillae (Figure 2; 3b, 4b