Nano/Micro Natural Patterns of Hydrogels against Drying-out

Water loss can be delayed by trapping within a polymeric network, i.e. hydrogel. However, dynamic response of natural materials has not been explained to maintain relatively constant water against varying environmental conditions. In this study, patterned polymeric materials formed on plant seeds are observed to provide effective water holding ability against repeated dehydrationrehydration procedures. The perpendicular line pattern (layer-by-layer stack) of the polymer films induces lateral line patterns (surface lines) by typical wrinkling mechanism, which contributes to characteristic water interaction. The anisotropic line patterns on the seed surface generate more hydrophilic property over the isotropic patterns against drying-out. The matric potential (m) of water through line patterned gel matrix generally shows higher efficiency over isotropically patterned gels. Anisotropic lines (i.e. wrinkles) are one of the most abundant patterning procedures, thus it is more advantageous function occurring ...