Wettability effect of the surface morphologies of Musa acuminata leaves

Abstract

The biomimetic application was studied for banana leaves (Musa acuminata Colla), which have been commonly used as a traditional cleaning technique for ironing plates. In this study, banana leaf surfaces were subjected to horizontal sliding forces of 5 N, 10 N, 15 N, and 30 N, using a heated plate at 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, and 500 °C. The self-cleaning behavior of the banana leaves was determined by measuring the adhesion force, roughness, and contact angle, which were subsequently correlated with the surface morphology. Based on the results of this study, the adhesion force decreased from 6.39 nN ± 0.42 nN at 100 °C to 0.50 nN ± 0.50 nN at 500 °C with a load of 30 N, whereas the roughness increased from 0.79 µm ± 0.21 µm at 100 °C to 1.12 µm ± 0.30 µm at 500 °C. Furthermore, the contact angle decreased from 124.8° at 100 °C to 104.0° at 500 °C with a load of 30 N. This study established that the morphology of the banana leaves was altered with the temperature during sliding, which correlated with the surface characteristics.