Squeezing out ketchup just got easier
London: Here’s some good news for women who often find it a herculean task to get the sauce out of ketchup bottles — researchers claim to have created a super-slippery material based on a carnivorous plant.
And, the material has properties that allow it to repel both oil and water based liquids, meaning they slide off without leaving any residue, according to a team at Harvard University in US.
The researchers behind the substance were inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants, which has a highly slippery surface at the top of its fluteshaped leaves so that insects tumble down into the digestive juices contained inside.
They found that the plant’s leaves have a sponge-like texture that are infused with water, which prevent the oils produced on insects’ feet from sticking.
The researchers copied the plant by immobilizing a “lubricating film” inside the pores of a sponge-like layer of Teflon to produce a smooth and highly slippery surface. They hope it could not result in self-cleaning coating that can be put on anything from car windscreens, inside oil pipes and on aircraft wings to prevent icing.
It could also be used to coat the inside of bottles and jars to allow every last drop of a condiment to be removed by hungry consumers. PTI
(TOI 15N1111)
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