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Superhydrophobic or hydrophobic properties have been used in dew harvesting, or the funneling of water to a basin for use in irrigation. The Groasis Waterboxx has a lid with a microscopic pyramidal structure based on the ultrahydrophobic properties that funnel condensation and rainwater into a basin for release to a growing plant's roots.
The hydrophobic effect is the observed tendency of nonpolar substances to aggregate in an aqueous solution and to be excluded by water. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The word hydrophobic literally means "water-fearing", and it describes the segregation of water and nonpolar substances, which maximizes the entropy of water and minimizes the area of contact ...
The fine hairs on some plants are hydrophobic, designed to exploit the solvent properties of water to attract and remove sunlight-blocking dirt from their photosynthetic surfaces. Inspired by this lotus effect , many functional superhydrophobic surfaces have been developed.
The hydrophobic interaction is mostly an entropic effect originating from the disruption of the highly dynamic hydrogen bonds between molecules of liquid water by the nonpolar solute, causing the water to compensate by forming a clathrate-like cage structure around the non-polar molecules. This structure is more highly ordered than free water ...
Hydrophobic soils and their aversion to water have consequences on plant water availability, plant-available nutrients, hydrology, and geomorphology of the affected area. [5] By reducing the infiltration rate, runoff generation time is reduced and leads to an increase in the land flow of water during precipitation or irrigation events.
The interactions between water and the subunits of these biomacromolecules shape protein folding, DNA base pairing, and other phenomena crucial to life (hydrophobic effect). Many organic substances (such as fats and oils and alkanes) are hydrophobic, that is, insoluble in water.
Superhydrophobic coatings are also found in nature; they appear on plant leaves, such as the lotus leaf, and some insect wings. [4] This image shows highly absorbent filter paper coated with a super-hydrophobic paint developed at University College London. This repels water (which has been dyed orange for greater contrast)
The effect originates from the disruption of highly dynamic hydrogen bonds between molecules of liquid water. Polar chemical groups, such as OH group in methanol do not cause the hydrophobic effect. However, a pure hydrocarbon molecule, for example hexane , cannot accept or donate hydrogen bonds to water.