How Gecko-Inspired Nanostructures Minimize Evaporation

Bionics How Gecko-Inspired Nanostructures Minimize Evaporation

2026-09-03 Source: CAU Kiel | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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The targeted structuring of surfaces is an important field in engineering. Researchers at Kiel University (CAU) (Germany) have now used flow simulation to uncover another property of gecko skin: special nanostructures create a microscopic boundary layer that drastically inhibits fluid loss. This principle holds potential for engineering applications.

Nature often serves as a model for engineers—whether it’s the dirt-repellent lotus effect or the aerodynamically optimized shark skin. Geckos and chameleons also possess a unique surface property: Their skin is covered with tiny, nanometer-sized hairs called setae. Until now, their exact function was unclear.A research team led by Prof. Stanislav Gorb at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU) wanted to find out whether these fine structures influence evaporation. To do so, they used a method that is also standard in engineering: They developed a computer model of the skin’s surface, including the setulae, and performed flow simulations.

Tiny hairs may protect geckos from dehydration.(Source: © Filippov et al.) — Tiny hairs may protect geckos from dehydration.
(Source: © Filippov et al.)

Counterintuitive Flow Behavior at the Nanoscale

At first, the researchers, too, had the obvious physical assumption that a surface area increased by tiny hairs would lead to greater evaporation. However, simulations of airflow over the skin revealed a completely different effect: the specific arrangement of the setulae traps air in the microscopic interstitial spaces and shields the actual surface. “The nanoscale structure creates a boundary layer,” explains Prof. Gorb. “This means that water molecules escaping from the skin’s surface into the air bounce back many times within this confined space, and some of them return.” Instead of escaping into the ambient air, moisture is retained by this purely structural design.

From Simulation to Artificial Surfaces

The modeling, now published in the scientific journal Biointerphases, demonstrates how nanostructured surfaces can control evaporation loss through purely mechanical means. In a next step, the researchers in Kiel plan to test the simulated principle in practice—including on artificially produced skin. In addition, the researchers plan to investigate the influence of embedded lipids, which make the surface even more water-repellent.
Understanding these bionic interfacial effects could serve as inspiration in the future for the development of novel membranes, in air-conditioning technology, or in the design of moisture-regulating technical surfaces.

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