Extracting Bio Wax from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn and Examining its hydrophobic properties as a Potential Surface Coating Agent

The multi-scale microstructure of a lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, belongs to the mono-generic family Nelumbonaceae) leaf is rendered non wetting by micro protrusion and nano-hairs that present on its surface. Bio-wax plays an important role for preventing wetting behavior of surface area. This plant is a highly ornamental one and exploited for landscaping lakes and ponds. In this experiment, wax was extracted using chloroform. The current work correlates the non -wetting behavior of paper coated with extracted bio wax. The contact angle is a traditional parameter that has been used to characterize the hydrophobicity level which is ≥ 900. Also, the paper showed water repellency when exposed to water droplets. Various other parameters have been used to determine the hydrophobicity level of the paper and exhibit significant results. Functional groups of the wax extract have also been identified using the Fourier Transform far infrared technique. Hence this finding could be an alternative to the synthetic plastics for regular use.