Nepenthes pitcher plant inspired bio-polymer embedded porous surfaces for oil aquaplaning

Bethany Orme; Alex Jenkins; Matthew Unthank; Vincent Barrioz; Gary Wells; Glen McHale; Prashant Agrawal

doi:10.1038/s41598-025-31041-x

Nepenthes pitcher plant inspired bio-polymer embedded porous surfaces for oil aquaplaning

Bethany Orme, Alex Jenkins, Matthew Unthank, Vincent Barrioz, Gary Wells, Glen McHale, Prashant Agrawal^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Nepenthes pitcher plant has inspired surfaces employing a liquid barrier that shields the surface from contaminants. However, such liquid-infused oil-repellent surfaces employ toxic fluorocarbons or unstable polar liquids. Here, we develop a bio-friendly oil-repellent surface using a food-grade bio-polymer coating on a nanoporous surface. By mimicking the pitcher plant’s nectar lining, the food-grade polymer absorbs water enhancing its stability against drainage and evaporation. The water-based lubricant is non-toxic, compatible with humid environments and replenishes simply by exposure to nebulized water droplets. Our surfaces demonstrate lubrication-induced oil and solid repellence and have substantial transformative potential in applications like oil-water separation, anti-fouling and food packaging.

Original language	English
Article number	1415
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	16
Issue number	1
Early online date	4 Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-31041-x
Publication status	Published - 12 Jan 2026

Keywords

Food Packaging
Oils/chemistry
Polymers/chemistry
Porosity
Surface Properties
Water/chemistry

Access to Document

10.1038/s41598-025-31041-xLicence: CC BY

Manuscript_SR_post_reviewAccepted author manuscript, 2.57 MBLicence: CC BY
s41598-025-31041-x_referenceAccepted author manuscript, 1.96 MBLicence: CC BY
s41598-025-31041-xFinal published version, 6.89 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Nepenthes pitcher plant inspired bio-polymer embedded porous surfaces for oil aquaplaning",

abstract = "The Nepenthes pitcher plant has inspired surfaces employing a liquid barrier that shields the surface from contaminants. However, such liquid-infused oil-repellent surfaces employ toxic fluorocarbons or unstable polar liquids. Here, we develop a bio-friendly oil-repellent surface using a food-grade bio-polymer coating on a nanoporous surface. By mimicking the pitcher plant{\textquoteright}s nectar lining, the food-grade polymer absorbs water enhancing its stability against drainage and evaporation. The water-based lubricant is non-toxic, compatible with humid environments and replenishes simply by exposure to nebulized water droplets. Our surfaces demonstrate lubrication-induced oil and solid repellence and have substantial transformative potential in applications like oil-water separation, anti-fouling and food packaging.",

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author = "Bethany Orme and Alex Jenkins and Matthew Unthank and Vincent Barrioz and Gary Wells and Glen McHale and Prashant Agrawal",

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AU - Orme, Bethany

AU - Jenkins, Alex

AU - Unthank, Matthew

AU - Barrioz, Vincent

AU - Wells, Gary

AU - McHale, Glen

AU - Agrawal, Prashant

PY - 2026/1/12

Y1 - 2026/1/12

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KW - Food Packaging

KW - Oils/chemistry

KW - Polymers/chemistry

KW - Porosity

KW - Surface Properties

KW - Water/chemistry

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Nepenthes pitcher plant inspired bio-polymer embedded porous surfaces for oil aquaplaning

Abstract

Keywords

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Decoupled Space and Time Gradients for Particulate Enrichment, Sorting and Isolation

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Nepenthes pitcher plant inspired bio-polymer embedded porous surfaces for oil aquaplaning

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

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Decoupled Space and Time Gradients for Particulate Enrichment, Sorting and Isolation

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