Directional water navigation and reallocation in <i>Tillandsia capitata</i>.

ABSTRACT: Liquid manipulation is ubiquitous in nature and engineering, enabling controllable and efficient liquid delivery. Conventional understanding of liquid manipulation relies on inhomogeneous chemical modifications or single-scale structure design. Here, we present how water is directionally navigated and spontaneously reallocated at high efficiency via the cross-scale topology on Tillandsia capitata leaves. These leaves feature transversely curved lanceolate macrostructures decorated by a layer of microtrichomes with varied morphologies. The macrostructure creates a lanceolate effect in the transport direction for fundamental navigation. At the same time, the microtrichomes serve dual functions: constructing a self-wetting superhydrophilic surface to facilitate the water transport spee

SUBMITTER: Lian J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12088400 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature