Choubey, RakeshRakeshChoubeyRowthu, SriharithaSriharithaRowthu2025-08-312025-08-312024-07-0210.1021/acsomega.4c016232-s2.0-85196754717https://d8.irins.org/handle/IITG2025/28836Robust rain-repellent surfaces are useful in roofs, solar panels, windshields, etc. Herein, excellent rain-repellency and droplet bouncing properties of Bauhinia Variegata leaves are presented. They possess surface microbumps (l ∼ 13 μm, w ∼ 8 μm, h ∼ 3 μm), which in turn comprise nanoplatelets (l ∼ 741 nm, t ∼ 59 nm) and Wenzel roughness (r<inf>w</inf>) of ∼2.2. The leaf’s surface energy was estimated to be 9.47 ± 0.03 mJ·m^-2 by incorporating r<inf>w</inf> into the van Oss-Good-Chaudhary theory. The leaves exhibited static contact angle of 157 ± 1°, roll-off angle of 9 ± 1°, and contact angle hysteresis of 12 ± 4°, which retained as they aged up to 186 days in the natural weather and laboratory conditions. The water droplets (10 μL, 40 μL) bounced off for free-fall heights from 5 cm to ∼13 m (Weber no. 36 to ∼2990) and displayed robust rain-repellency (Weber no. ∼4500), similar to that of a lotus leaf. Also, Bauhinia leaves survived pressurized water jets (Weber no. ∼4240). Nevertheless, underwater hydrophobicity has been persistent only for up to 3 h when submerged in 20 cm (∼1.96 kPa gauge pressure) deep water, while lotus leaves retained for >7 h. Such robust Bauhinia leaf’s nanoplatelets and wax chemistries can be replicated onto glass/metals for preparing rain-repellent surfaces.trueArticlehttps://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c016232470134328323-283382 July 20243arJournal3WOS:001251015000001