Selective directional liquid transport on shoot surfaces of Crassula muscosa

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yang, Ling; Li, Wei; Lian, Jiaoyuan; Zhu, Hengjia; Deng, Qiyu; Zhang, Yiyuan; Li, Jiaqian; Yin, Xiaobo; Wang, Liqiu
• 署名单位: University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Shandong University; University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-13067
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adk4180
• 发表日期: 2024-06-21
• 页码: 1344-1349
• 关键词: foliar water-uptake; desert

摘要

Directional liquid transport has been widely observed in various species including cacti, spiders, lizards, the pitcher plant Nepenthes alata, and Araucaria leaves. However, in all these examples the liquid transport for a specific liquid is completely restricted in a fixed direction. We demonstrate that Crassula muscosa shoot surfaces have the ability to transport a specific liquid unidirectionally in either direction. This is accomplished through the presence of asymmetric reentrant leaves with varying reentrant angles, which yields the variation in liquid meniscus heterogeneity. These findings enable engineered biomimetic structures capable of selective directional liquid transport, with functions such as intelligent flow direction switching, liquid distribution, and mixing.