European breakthrough has potential for self-cleaning sheet metal

Taking inspiration from defence mechanisms found in plants such as the Lotus leaf, the ‘High Throughput Laser Texturing of Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Surfaces’, or ‘TresClean’ project, harnessed new photonics technology to develop the first fluid-repellent, antibacterial, metal surface.

This new technique will initially be used to create antibacterial surfaces for use in the food production industry, an advance that is expected to increase productivity and reduce costs in factories that process biological food products.

TresClean has used high-power laser cutting devices to create a specifically tailored, rough micro-topography on sheet metal that mimics the surface of the Lotus leaf, causing liquids to be repelled from them. This roughened surface creates miniature pockets of air that minimises the contact area between the surface and a liquid.

Prof Luca Romoli, project coordinator of TresClean said: “In the same way that Lotus leaves keep themselves clean, without the need for cleaning products or chemicals, their jagged, rough surfaces enable water to stay as spherical droplets by preventing ‘spreading’.