IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v3y2012i1d10.1038_ncomms2253.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Ju

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Hao Bai

    (National Centre for Nanoscience and Technology)

  • Yongmei Zheng

    (School of Chemistry and Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Tianyi Zhao

    (School of Chemistry and Environment, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Ruochen Fang

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Lei Jiang

    (Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Multiple biological structures have demonstrated fog collection abilities, such as beetle backs with bumps and spider silks with periodic spindle-knots and joints. Many Cactaceae species live in arid environments and are extremely drought-tolerant. Here we report that one of the survival systems of the cactus Opuntia microdasys lies in its efficient fog collection system. This unique system is composed of well-distributed clusters of conical spines and trichomes on the cactus stem; each spine contains three integrated parts that have different roles in the fog collection process according to their surface structural features. The gradient of the Laplace pressure, the gradient of the surface-free energy and multi-function integration endow the cactus with an efficient fog collection system. Investigations of the structure–function relationship in this system may help us to design novel materials and devices to collect water from fog with high efficiencies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Ju & Hao Bai & Yongmei Zheng & Tianyi Zhao & Ruochen Fang & Lei Jiang, 2012. "A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-6, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2253
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2253
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2253
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms2253?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qifeng Mu & Kunpeng Cui & Zhi Jian Wang & Takahiro Matsuda & Wei Cui & Hinako Kato & Shotaro Namiki & Tomoko Yamazaki & Martin Frauenlob & Takayuki Nonoyama & Masumi Tsuda & Shinya Tanaka & Tasuku Nak, 2022. "Force-triggered rapid microstructure growth on hydrogel surface for on-demand functions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Song Zhang & Mingchao Chi & Jilong Mo & Tao Liu & Yanhua Liu & Qiu Fu & Jinlong Wang & Bin Luo & Ying Qin & Shuangfei Wang & Shuangxi Nie, 2022. "Bioinspired asymmetric amphiphilic surface for triboelectric enhanced efficient water harvesting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Shereen K. Sibie & Mohamed F. El-Amin & Shuyu Sun, 2021. "Modeling of Water Generation from Air Using Anhydrous Salts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    4. Salehi, Ali Akbar & Ghannadi-Maragheh, Mohammad & Torab-Mostaedi, Meisam & Torkaman, Rezvan & Asadollahzadeh, Mehdi, 2020. "A review on the water-energy nexus for drinking water production from humid air," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Cong Liu & Chenguang Lu & Zichao Yuan & Cunjing Lv & Yahua Liu, 2022. "Steerable drops on heated concentric microgroove arrays," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2253. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.