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Cotton – The Trivialized Treasure
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Ms. Arpita Shome*
Email: arpitashome2@gmail.com
Honey, can you please turn down the volume of the TV?’ urged my mother as she continued to pat her face with a piece
of cotton soaked with moisturizer. I’ve always been intrigued with the way cotton finds use in cosmetics, bandages, sanitary pads, etc. Shifting my attention back to the television set, I frantically switched news channels to catch any latest update on the worst oil spill accident in the history of mankind that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The fact that the spill lasted for 3 months, releasing 5 million barrels of crude oil into the sea and killing aquatic life, was troubling the inquisitive, naïve, helpless 11th standard child in me. Eventually, the news faded away with time. Seven years later, I was ready to embark on my doctoral journey (PhD), but felt confused with the choice of research
area. A good-willed saviour suggested me to join Dr Uttam Manna’s group at the Department of Chemistry, IIT, Guwahati, actively working on developing bio-inspired surfaces with extreme water repellency known as superhydrophobic interfaces. ‘Bio-inspired?’ inquired my aunt, a retired chemistry lecturer, as my younger brother eagerly looked forward to my answer. ‘When a water droplet falls on the lotus leaf, it tends to immediately roll off from the surface of the leaf, thus helping to keep the leaf dust free. This extreme water repellency is termed as superhydrophobicity and is the characteristic property of not just the lotus leaf but also taro leaf, rice leaf, butterfly wings and legs of the water striders that help them to float on the surface of the water. The process of adapting the characteristic property of these
* Ms. Arpita Shome, PhD Scholar from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, is pursuing her research on “Natural Ingredients Derived Bio-Inspired Interfaces with Special Wettability”. Her popular science story entitled “Cotton - The Trivialized Treasure” has been selected for AWSAR Award.