Neat and clean

Surfactants are a common component of many cleaning products and detergents. However, the production of these surfactants often requires the use of petroleum. In nature we can find plants, such as the lotus flower, whose leaves have developer a self-cleaning mechanism. Due to nano-sized hydrophobic wax nubs on the surface of the leaf, water droplets have only a very small contact area. The water's surface tension subsequently leads to the droplet rolling off the leaf, taking dirt particles with it