Generierung einer mikro- und nanostrukturierten Kupferoberfläche mit Lotos-Effekt: Ein Versuch für die Sekundarstufen I und II

Several commercial products are inspired by nature. Because of its enormous everyday relevance, this relatively new scientific discipline bionic should be considered in school teaching. This article presents an experiment in which the Lotus-Effect® is introduced into the regular curriculum of general education schools. By using appropriate chemicals, a hydrophilic copper surface can be modified in such a way that it exhibits self-cleaning properties. In order to explain the extremely water repellant character of the modified copper plate, the surface structure must be examined in more detail. Therefore, the experiment conducts a stepwise development of the observable structure-property relations and can be used both in lower core elective course and in upper secondary school classes (chemistry). It makes it possible to embed an inquiry-based approach into school lessons. In addition, the experiment was a motivation for school students to further investigate experimental problems and to present their results to a wider audience within the framework of a competition.