COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
·
2022
·
IF 5.518
Muhammad Imran Jamil,Yuhang Cai,Waqar Ahmed,Xiaoli Zhan,Fengqiu Chen,Dangguo Cheng,Qinghua Zhang
Natural species use their surface structures for water harvesting. It is the dire need of the hour to learn from nature, mimic its functions, and solve the water scarcity problem through dew condensation . However, the present microscale and nanoscale approaches still suffer from complicated fabrication methods and durability failure in harsh conditions. Here, we introduce a bioinspired slippery surface of candle soot particles which uses its bumps to enhance the growth of condensed water droplets. The Namib desert beetles-inspired convex topography, cacti-inspired asymmetric slope, and Nepenthes pitcher plant-inspired slippery surface of soot particles synergistically combines the large droplet nucleation density, fast droplet coalescence, and easy removal of droplet from the surface. The hydrophilic SLIPS of soot particles harvests water at a rate of 326.4 ± 9 mg/cm 2 h -1 which is 70 % high as compared to hydrophobic SLIPS of soot particles. The fluorinated SLIPS reveals 32 % high water collection rate as compared to the methyl-terminated SLIPS of candle soot particles and the results are corroborated by calculating the intermolecular hydrogen bonding energies through DFT. The programmed motion of water droplet on a slippery surface of soot particles is also observed by applying laser light, heat, and magnetic field even against gravity. The slippery surface shows long-term stability due to nano-porosity, permeation of lubricant into soot particles and lubricant’s crosslinking ability with the binder. The developed surface is biocompatible, self-cleaning, and suitable for water harvesting particularly in cold and arid regions.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境科学
·
生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2022
·
IF 16.744
Zhe Qiu,Fanjun Yu,Dan Xu,Zengbin Wang,Junya Huang,Shuo Wang,Yanxiao Yang,Yonggui Wang,Jian Li,Zefang Xiao,Yanjun Xie,Kai Zhang
Water-transport based on biomimetic self-propelled directional water transport materials have attracted wide attention but are limited by low transport speed, costly and complicated preparation, and scaling difficulty. By retaining native cellulose microfibril structure within wood cell walls and their controlled shrinkage, we constructed a self-propelling directionally water transporting wood (SDTW) by reshaping the cell wall to generate robust capillary forces due to aligned longitudinal hierarchical wood cell structures. Hierarchical structures containing directional parallel macro- and micro-sized ridge-groove structures and creating nano-voids are fabricated. They are further intactly fixed after reaction with maleic anhydride to improve the dimensional stability and environmental durability without changing the hydrophilicity on surface. Resulting SDTW exhibited an ultrafast water transport speed of 200.4 mm/s (∼260 % of Nepenthes alata showing a fast speed of 78 mm/s as a native structure) and water absorbing rate of 1.15 × 10 5 L/m 2 /h (over 4200-fold higher than that of natural wood). With these ultrafast water transport characters, SDTW was used as water manipulating systems for fast bottom to up transportation of liquid water at a rate of 193.5 mm/s, and as high fog harvesting system with an efficiency of 10.6 g/cm 2 /h. With its facility, durability, scalability, and sustainability, the SDTW demonstrates a new class of sustainable wood-based materials for practical water manipulation applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
仿生学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING COMMUNICATIONS
·
2025
·
IF 2
Alvin H. H. Teo,S. Y. Chin,Fiona W. M. Ling,Hayder A. Abdulbari
Water shortage is an imminent issue in the foreseeable future while thermal desalination techniques are energy intensive. This study investigates a membrane-less low temperature technique known as directional solvent extraction (DSE) desalination in a serpentine microchannel at 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C. Two lower fatty acids, heptanoic acid (HeptA) and nonanoic acid (NonA) were used as the solvents to recover water from a 35000 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS) seawater at 2, 3, 4 and 5 organic to aqueous flowrate ratios (O: aq). Custom-made polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) – glass microfluidic device is fabricated via direct writing lithography with depth and length of 100 µm and 161 mm respectively while the width is varied from 400 - 800 µm. Droplets were generated during the extraction process to maximize diffusion by using a 90° T-junction where the organic solvent is the continuous phase and seawater is the dispersed phase. A maximum product water yield, Yw of 4 % v/v and 1.9 % v/v is achieved by HeptA and NonA respectively. The product water recovered from HeptA and NonA has salinity as low as 0.01% and 0.08%, respectively. The HeptA system produces water containing higher solvent residuals than the NonA system. HeptA is a better solvent as it can extract approximately two times more water than NonA under the same operating conditions. Both solvents are reusable.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
化学工程
·
水资源管理
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Matter
·
2022
·
IF 19.967
Xin Chen,Cong Wu,Yinjie Lv,Chang Zhang,Xinshui Zhang,Lu Nie,Yue Zhang,Lianqi Zhao,Chen Huang,Wei Liu
Lithium extraction from seawater/brine has attracted increasing attention because of its abundant reserves. However, most extraction technologies require extra energy consumption to enrich lithium in the solution. Here, we develop a self-driven lithium extraction method by a composite asymmetric nonwoven (CAN) with directional liquid transport functionality. CAN consists of one hydrophobic fibrous layer containing Li-ion sieve particles and one hydrophilic fibrous layer. As a result, a solution containing various types of ions can spontaneously transport through CAN from the hydrophobic to the hydrophilic layer, absorbing Li ions in the hydrophobic layer. CAN exhibits high Li + selective adsorption capacity, good chemical stability, easy recyclability, and long service life. Importantly, extremely low energy of ∼1.631 J is consumed on extracting 1 mg lithium ion by our method using CAN. This work opens a great promise of saving huge energy costs on lithium extraction from seawater or salt lakes.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 1.6
Yuewen Zhang,Yanli Ma,Hailiang Wu,Yanqin Shen,Yanxiao Ma,Yijun Yao,Ying Xue,Desuo Zhang
Fabrics with directional water transport performance have attracted considerable attention in daily life. They are in high demand, owing to their ability to transport sweat away from the skin to improve personal comfort. However, the fabrication of such materials has still remained a critical task. This article reports a nonwoven with the directional water transport function, achieved using a synergistic combination of a microstructure and a wettability gradient. The three-step fabrication strategy involves needling bonding of Y cross-section polyamide fiber webs with two needling densities (30 and 190 needle/cm2), followed by single-sided spraying of polydopamine–silicon carbide powder–polyethyleneimine dispersion and a fluoride-free hydrophobic agent. Using fiber webs with different needling densities endows the nonwoven fabric with a differential capillary effect, enhancing the directional water transport property. The unique microstructure achieves the directional water transport property by improving permeability at lower needling densities and hindering transport through a denser needling density in the reverse direction. At the same time, the wetting gradient effect promotes water transfer from the hydrophobic surface to the hydrophilic surface. The successful preparation of these interesting directional water transport materials offers new insights into the role of fibrous materials, the needling density of nonwovens, and the development of highly comfortable moisture-wicking textiles.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
纺织工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Nano
·
2018
·
IF 13.709
Xiaolu Zhuo,Hang Kuen Yip,Qifeng Ruan,Tiankai Zhang,Xingzhong Zhu,Jianfang Wang,Hai-Qing Lin,Jian-Bin Xu,Zhi Yang
Directional optical nanoantennas are often realized by nanostructured systems with ingenious or complex designs. Herein we report on the realization of directional scattering of visible light from a simple configuration made of single Ag nanorods supported on Si substrates, where the incident light can be routed toward the two flanks of each nanorod. Such an intriguing far-field scattering behavior, which has not been investigated so far, is proved to result from the near-field coupling between high-aspect-ratio Ag nanorods and high-refractive-index Si substrates. A simple and intuitive model is proposed, where the complicated plasmon resonance is found to be equivalent to several vertically aligned electric dipoles oscillating in phase, to understand the far-field properties of the system. The interference among the electric dipoles results in wavefront reshaping and sidewise light routing in a similar manner to the broadside antenna described in the traditional antenna theory, allowing for the naming of these Si-supported Ag nanorods as “broadside nanoantennas”. We have carried out comprehensive experiments to understand the physical origins behind and the affecting factors on the directional scattering behavior of such broadside nanoantennas.
研究领域:
光学
·
纳米技术
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材料科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Journal of Materials Chemistry B
·
2025
·
IF 5.7
Xiaofang Wu,Kai Chen,Qi Chai,Xinyue Zhang,Haiyan Feng,Cunao Feng,Dagang Wang,Xiaowei Li,Dekun Zhang
At present, most of the 3D printed cartilage scaffolds are homogeneous or isotropic, which is still quite different from the unique structure of natural articular cartilage. In this study, a multilayer cartilage scaffold with gradient pore size and directional arrangement structure was constructed using 3D bio-printing and template-freezing orientation technology to achieve a high degree of mimicry of natural cartilage structure at macroscopic and microscopic levels. Moreover, gelatin (Gt) and sodium alginate (Alg) were selected as the base materials for 3D printing bioinks to realize the mimicry of the main components of natural articular cartilage. For structural and performance comparison, we prepared three multilayer cartilage scaffolds: uniform non-oriented group, uniform oriented group and gradient-oriented group, and evaluated their performances respectively. The results showed that the gradient-oriented multilayer scaffolds had more desirable microstructure, more suitable physicochemical properties, better biological properties and excellent mechanical properties than the other two groups. For example, the maximum strength is 432.75kPa under 10 cycles of compression at 80% strain, and the creep deformation is 0.578mm under 10N load within 1 hour. Finally, the cartilage repair ability of the three scaffolds was investigated in a rabbit cartilage defect model, and the results further showed that the gradient-oriented multilayer scaffolds were more effective in promoting cartilage tissue repair and regeneration. In conclusion, this 3D printed multilayer gradient-oriented biomimetic cartilage scaffold has a good application potential in the repair and regeneration of articular cartilage tissue.
研究领域:
组织工程学
·
再生医学
·
生物材料学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
iScience
·
2023
·
IF 5.8
Meng Wang,Yanzhao Shi,Shun Wang,Huanlin Xu,Hui Zhang,Min Wei,Xiaopeng Wang,Wanxi Peng,Hang Ding,Meirong Song
Droplets directionally bouncing off moving superhydrophobic solid surfaces are universal in nature and are crucial in many biological, sustainable, environmental, and engineering applications. However, their underlying physics and regulation strategies remain relatively unknown. This paper demonstrates that the maximum directional acceleration of a post-impact droplet mainly occurs in the spreading stage and that the orientational velocity of the droplet mainly originates in the early impingement process. Furthermore, it clarifies the underlying physics based on momentum transfer process imposed by the boundary layer of impacts and proposes a strategy for regulating the directional droplet velocity using a comprehensive formula. Finally, it shows that directional bouncing reduces the flight momentum of a small flying device by 10%–22%, and the experimental values agree closely with the predicted values. This study reveals the droplet bounce orientation mechanism imposed by moving substrates, provides manipulation methods, and makes positive and meaningful discussions of practical applications.
研究领域:
流体力学
·
材料科学
·
工程应用
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
·
2024
·
IF 5.1
Guang-Xin Mao,Jia-Min Wu,Chong Tian,Chun-Lei Liu,Xin Lin,Fen Wang,Hai-Sheng Xu,Yu-Sheng Shi
Porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics are widely applied in aerospace and mechanical fields owing to their excellent properties. Furthermore, vat photopolymerization (VPP) technology can fabricate Si 3 N 4 components with complicated structures and high precision, but its layer-by-layer printing method leads to poor mechanical properties of ceramics. In this study, porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics with a porosity of 28.41 % strengthened by directional β-Si 3 N 4 were fabricated by combining VPP technology and seeding method. Rheological behavior and curing properties of the slurry were explored, and the influence of β-Si 3 N 4 content on the mechanical properties of printed Si 3 N 4 ceramics was investigated systematically. With the increase of β-Si 3 N 4 content, the orientation degree of β-Si 3 N 4 grains increased gradually, while fracture toughness and flexural strength of the ceramics exhibited a trend of increased first and then decreased and Vickers hardness gradually decreased. As β-Si 3 N 4 content increased to 5 wt%, the fracture toughness and flexural strength of porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics were improved from 4.23 MPa m 1/2 and 214.7 MPa–5.65 MPa m 1/2 and 272.0 MPa, respectively. Therefore, this work indicates that vat photopolymerization combined with seeding method is a promising approach for the fabrication of porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics with high performance and complex structures.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
机械工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Sensors
·
2023
·
IF 8.9
Pengfei Ding,Huan Liu,Zhen Zhu,Yanyan Fu,Huizi Li,Huimin Cao,Fanbing Meng,Wei Xu,Qingguo He,Jiangong Cheng
The electrical vapor sensor based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has attracted wide attention due to its excellent conductivity, stable interfacial structure, and low dimensional quantum effects. However, the conductivity and contact interface activity were still limited by the random distribution of coated CNTs, which led to limited performance. We developed a new strategy to unify the CNT directions with image fractal designing of the electrode system. In such a system, directional aligned CNTs were gained under a well-modulated electric field, leading to microscale CNT exciton highways and molecule-scale host–guest site activation. The carrier mobility of the aligned CNT device is 20-fold higher than that of the random network CNT device. With excellent electrical properties, such modulated CNT devices based on fractal electrodes behave as an ultrasensitive vapor sensor for methylphenethylamine, a mimic of illicit drug methamphetamine. The detection limit reached as low as 0.998 ppq, 6 orders of magnitude sensitive than the reported 5 ppb record based on interdigital electrodes with random distributed CNTs. Since the device is easily fabricated in wafer-level and compatible with the CMOS process, such a fractal design strategy for aligned CNT preparation will be widely applied in a variety of wafer-level electrical functional devices.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
电子工程
·
传感器技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
·
2025
·
IF 6.9
Xianghuang Zhou,Yizhou Shen,Zhen Wang,Jiawei Jiang,Senyun Liu,Weilan Liu,Yuebin Lin
Electrothermal anti-/de-icing technology is considered to be an effective means of solving the icing problem on the composite surface of multi-electric/pure-electric vehicle in the future. The electrothermal coating with carbon nanotube concentration gradient was fabricated by the multi-step spraying method, which obviously increased the rate of electric heating by inducing directional heat transfer. The coating temperature remained above 0 ℃ under various low-temperature incoming conditions, when the electric power density as low as 0.4 W/cm 2 . Meanwhile, the concentration gradient coating’s excellent adhesion and electrothermal stability ensured its long service life. Moreover, the surface temperature of the coating on the airfoil model increased rapidly to over 50 ℃ within 180 s at an initial electrical power density of 1.2 W/cm 2 , effectively preventing ice formation on the leading edge for 60 s under −15 °C, 30 m/s flow condition. Under the same conditions, 8.5 mm-thick ice on the leading edge could be swiftly removed within 22 s with initial electrical power density of 1.8 W/cm 2 . This strategy of conductive packing gradient design will provide new insights for advanced electrothermal anti-/de-icing material manufacturing.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
航空工程
·
能源技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Advanced Fiber Materials
·
2022
·Vol. 5
·期 1
·138-153
·
IF 12.958
Si Yifan,Shi Shuo,Dong Zhichao,Wu Hanbai,Sun Fengxin,Yang Jieqiong,Hu Jinlian
Extensive progress has been achieved regarding Janus fabric for directional water transport due to its excellent and feasible personal cooling management ability, which has great significance for energy conservation, pollution reduction, and human health. However, existing Janus asymmetric multilayer fabrics for directional water transport are still limited by their complicated syntheses and poor stabilities. Inspired by the compositionally graded architecture of leaf cuticles, we propose a single-layer Janus personal cooling management fabric (JPCMF) via a one-step electrospinning method. The JPCMF shows not only great directional bulk water transport ability but also asymmetry moisture (water vapor) transport ability with a high asymmetry factor (1.49), water vapor transmission value (18.5 kg −1 m −2 D −1 ), and water evaporation rate (0.735 g h −1 ). Importantly, the JPCMF exhibits outstanding durability and stability thanks to a novel electrostatic adsorption-assisted self-adhesion strategy for resisting abrasion, peeling and pulling. With these characteristics, the JPCMF can achieve a 4.0 °C personal cooling management effect, better than taht of cotton fabric, on wet skin. The good biocompatibility and nontoxicity also endow the JPCMF with the potential to be a self-pumping dressing. Our strategy should facilitate a new method for developing next-generation intelligent multifunctional fabrics. Graphical abstract
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物仿生学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）