ERIC Number: EJ832482
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 3
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Self-Cleaning Surfaces: A Third-Year Undergraduate Research Project
Haines, Ronald S.; Wu, Alex H. F.; Zhang, Hua; Coffey, Jacob; Huddle, Thomas; Lafountaine, Justin S.; Lim, Zhi-Jun; White, Eugene A.; Tuong, Nam T.; Lamb, Robert N.
Journal of Chemical Education, v86 n3 p365-367 Mar 2009
Superhydrophobic (non water-wettable) surfaces can possess the ability to self-clean (the so-called "lotus effect"). The task of devising the apparatus and method for quantifying this self-cleaning effect was offered as a project in a third-year undergraduate laboratory course. Using commonly available equipment the students devised a protocol for measuring the self-cleaning ability of surfaces and related this to the contact angle and hysteresis of the surfaces. As well as gaining experience with measuring surface properties the students developed professional skills as they planned, carried out, and presented their research. The project is open-ended and adaptable to suit available equipment and surfaces. (Contains 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Sanitation, Chemistry, Physics, Undergraduate Students, Student Research, Research Projects, Science Instruction, College Science, Measurement, Laboratory Experiments, Water, Hands on Science, Foreign Countries
Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society. Subscription Department, P.O. Box 1267, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-1267. Tel: 800-691-9846; Tel: 856-931-5825; Fax: 856-931-4115; e-mail: jchemed@egpp.com; Web site: http://www.jce.divched.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A