The water-protecting properties of insect hairs

Crisp, D. J.; Thorpe, W. H.

doi:10.1039/df9480300210

Cited by 76 publications

(62 citation statements)

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“…One of these models (the robustness height, or H* model) is based on the idea that the transition from the composite (CassieBaster) interface to the fully wetted interface 54 . 54 Tuteja's T* model is similar in form to earlier models proposed by Crisp and Thorpe (1948), 55 and by Purcell (1949). Figure 4d shows the relationship between inter-fiber distance (2s), analogous to pore diameter, and the intrusion pressure for DI water at 25 °C (γ= 72 mN/m) for a hypothetical membrane with monodisperse fiber diameter (0.43 µm), based on the three models.…”

Section: Pore Diametermentioning

confidence: 59%

Desalination by Membrane Distillation using Electrospun Polyamide Fiber Membranes with Surface Fluorination by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Guo

Servi

Liu

et al. 2015

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

136

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Fibrous membranes of poly(trimethyl hexamethylene terephthalamide) (PA6(3)T) were fabricated by electrospinning and rendered hydrophobic by applying a conformal coating of poly-(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl acrylate) (PPFDA) using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). A set of iCVD-treated electrospun PA6(3)T fiber membranes with fiber diameters ranging from 0.25 to 1.8 µm were tested for desalination using the air gap membrane distillation configuration. Permeate fluxes of 2 to 11 kg/m 2 /hr were observed for temperature differentials of 20 °C to 45 °C between the feed stream and condenser plate, with rejections in excess of 99.98%. The liquid entry pressure was observed to increase dramatically, from 15 to 373 kPa with reduction in fiber diameter. Contrary to expectation, for a given feed temperature the permeate flux was observed to increase for membranes of decreasing fiber diameter. The results for permeate flux and salt rejection show that it is possible to construct membranes for membrane distillation even from intrinsically hydrophilic materials after surface modification by iCVD, and that the fiber diameter is shown to play an important role on the membrane distillation performance in terms of permeate flux, salt rejection, and liquid entry pressure.

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Section: Pore Diametermentioning

confidence: 59%

Desalination by Membrane Distillation using Electrospun Polyamide Fiber Membranes with Surface Fluorination by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Guo

Servi

Liu

et al. 2015

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

136

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“…A respiration organ consisting of an air space possessing (i) a large surface area to O 2 requirement ratio, (ii) a small volume, as it does not act as a store of O 2 , and (iii) a mechanism of hydrofuge hairs or scales to prevent ingress of water and maintain the pressure difference caused by the respiration rate and the degree of unsaturation of the water (Crisp and Thorpe, 1948).…”

Section: Plastronmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical gills prevent drowning of many wetland insects, spiders and plants

Pedersen

Colmer

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Summary Insects, spiders and plants risk drowning in their wetland habitats. The slow diffusion of O2 can cause asphyxiation when underwater, as O2 supply cannot meet respiratory demands. Some animals and plants have found a common solution to the major challenge: how to breathe underwater with respiratory systems evolved for use in air? Hydrophobic surfaces on their bodies possess gas films that act as a ‘physical gill’ to collect O2 when underwater and thus sustain respiration. In aquatic insects, this feature/process has been termed ‘plastron respiration’. Here, we demonstrate the similarities in function between underwater respiration of insect (Aphelocheirus aestivalis) plastrons and gas films on leaves of wetland plants (Phalaris arundinacea) and also show the importance of these physical gills by the resulting changes upon their removal. The gas films provide an enlarged gas–water interface to enhance O2 uptake underwater that is above that if only spiracles (insects) or stomata (plants) provided the gas-phase contact with the water. Body-surface gas films contribute to the survival of many insects, spiders and plants in aquatic and flood-prone environments.

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“…A plastron is defined as a gas film of constant volume that is held on the outside of the cuticle by hydrofuge hairs or cuticular projections that provide an extensive water-air interface (Crisp and Thorpe, 1948). Although plastrons have evolved many times in insects, the only other known examples of plastron respiration are in millipedes (Diplopoda) and some mites (Acari: Arachnida) where, as in insects, gas exchange underwater involves a plastron linked to a tracheal system (Hinton, 1971;Messner et al, 1992;Messner and Adis, 1995;Adis, 1997;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%