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The transpiration of water at negative pressures in a synthetic tree

Author

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  • Tobias D. Wheeler

    (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA)

  • Abraham D. Stroock

    (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA)

Abstract

Transpiration: the pulling power of a 'synthetic tree' Evaporation of water from the leaves of plants pulls water up from the roots via a passive wick-like action. This 'transpirational pull' generates pressures up to a hundredfold greater than in synthetic wicks. A team from Cornell University has now developed a microfluidic system in a synthetic hydrogel that captures the main attributes — and pulling power — of transpiration in plants. The microfluidic 'synthetic tree' has a root system that extracts liquid water from a subsaturated vapour into negative pressures in the liquid phase. Liquid water flows at large negative pressures through the 'trunk' and the water evaporates through an analagous 'leaf' system. This process validates the cohesion-tension theory of transpiration, and the synthetic tree should also be a useful platform for the study the properties of metastable liquids and a starting point from which to design new technologies for the management of water in chemical processes, heat transfer, and environmental engineering.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias D. Wheeler & Abraham D. Stroock, 2008. "The transpiration of water at negative pressures in a synthetic tree," Nature, Nature, vol. 455(7210), pages 208-212, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:455:y:2008:i:7210:d:10.1038_nature07226
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07226
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    Cited by:

    1. Jordana Alves Ferreira & Llorenç Baronat Esparraguera & Sonia Claudia Nascimento Queiroz & Carla Beatriz Grespan Bottoli, 2023. "Vegetative Endotherapy—Advances, Perspectives, and Challenges," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, July.
    2. Wu, Shiqiang & Patil, Sunil A. & Chen, Shuiliang, 2018. "Auto-feeding microbial fuel cell inspired by transpiration of plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 934-939.
    3. Gan Huang & Jingyuan Xu & Christos N. Markides, 2023. "High-efficiency bio-inspired hybrid multi-generation photovoltaic leaf," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Shenxiang Zhang & Xian Wei & Xue Cao & Meiwen Peng & Min Wang & Lin Jiang & Jian Jin, 2024. "Solar-driven membrane separation for direct lithium extraction from artificial salt-lake brine," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Wang, Xinzhi & He, Yurong & Liu, Xing & Cheng, Gong & Zhu, Jiaqi, 2017. "Solar steam generation through bio-inspired interface heating of broadband-absorbing plasmonic membranes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 414-425.

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