Hong Kong researchers discover liquids inside leaves can be steered

In Hong Kong, inspired by a kind of tree leaf, scientists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) discovered that the spreading direction of different liquids deposited on the same surface can be steered, solving a challenge that has remained for over two centuries. This breakthrough could ignite a new wave of using 3D surface structures for intelligent liquid manipulation with profound implications for various scientific and industrial applications, such as fluidics design and heat transfer enhancement. 

The research team found that the unexpected liquid transport behavior of the Araucaria leaf provides an exciting prototype for liquid directional steering, pushing the frontiers of liquid transport. Their findings were published in the prestigious scientific journal Science under the title “Three-dimensional capillary ratchet-induced liquid directional steering.”