Page 18 - Penn State Mechanical Engineering Magazine 2020

Research Highlights
New discoveries about the nanostructure of insects, such as the eye of a mosquito, could help engineer enhanced water repellent coatings. Credit: Lin Wang, Wong Laboratory for Nature Inspired Engineering
Enhanced water repellent surfaces discovered in nature
Researchers have theorized a coating that mimics the unique nanostructure could improve virus repellent face masks
By Erin Cassidy Hendrick
Through the investigation of insect surfaces, Penn State researchers have detailed a previously unidentified nanostructure that can be used to engineer stronger, more resilient water repellent coatings.
The results of this research were published in Science Advances.
With an enhanced ability to repel droplets, this design could be applied to personal protective equipment (PPE) to better resist virus-laden particles, such as COVID-19, among other applications.
“For the past few decades, conventionally designed water repellent surfaces have usually been based on plants, like lotus leaves,” said Lin Wang, a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State and the lead author of the paper.
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