Self-Cleaning Bioplastic Inspired by the Lotus Leaf

News- Inspired by the always immaculate lotus leaf, researchers have developed a self-cleaning bioplastic that is sturdy, sustainable, and compostable

The innovative plastic developed at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) repels liquids and dirt – just like a lotus leaf – then breaks down rapidly once in soil. Iranian researcher; Mehran Ghasemlou (PhD), lead author of the study published in Science of the Total Environment, said the new bioplastic was ideal for fresh food and takeaway packaging, also, it does not need industrial intervention to biodegrade, with trials showing it breaks down naturally and quickly in soil

Lotus leaves are renowned for having some of the most water-repellent surfaces on earth and are almost impossible to get dirty. To make their lotus-inspired material, the RMIT team of science and engineering researchers first synthetically engineered a plastic made of starch and cellulosic nanoparticles. The surface of this bioplastic was imprinted with a pattern that mimics the structure of lotus leaves, then coated with a protective layer of PDMS, a silicon-based organic polymer

Tests show the bioplastic not only repels liquids and dirt effectively, but also retains its self-cleaning properties after being scratched with abrasives and exposed to heat, acid, and ethanol

This study was published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c09959)

14.02.2022

Ref: www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

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