CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2020
·
IF 10.652
Ziyu Shao,Yujie Wang,Hao Bai
Polar bears have special hairs with porous microstructure and hydrophobic surface, which help them keep warm in both cold air and water. Due to the large difference in temperature and heat transfer process of aquatic and terrestrial environments, it is quite difficult for typical thermal insulating materials to maintain ideal insulation in air and underwater at the same time. To tackle this problem, we report here a superhydrophobic porous textile mimicking the outstanding thermal insulating properties of polar bear hairs. Fibers used to weave this textile are fabricated by a freeze-spinning method, providing them aligned porous microstructure. After a superhydrophobic surface treatment, the obtained textile with porous microstructure and superhydrophobic surface is capable of capturing air in its multi-scale porous structure, promising an excellent thermal insulating ability in both air and water environments. Our study paves a way for the bioinspired engineering of thermal insulation textiles both in air and underwater.
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
ADVANCED MATERIALS
·
2018
·Vol. 30
·期 14
·1706807
·
IF 21.95
Ying Cui,Huaxin Gong,Yujie Wang,Dewen Li,Hao Bai
Animals living in the extremely cold environment, such as polar bears, have shown amazing capability to keep warm, benefiting from their hollow hairs. Mimicking such a strategy in synthetic fibers would stimulate smart textiles for efficient personal thermal management, which plays an important role in preventing heat loss and improving efficiency in house warming energy consumption. Here, a “freeze-spinning” technique is used to realize continuous and large-scale fabrication of fibers with aligned porous structure, mimicking polar bear hairs, which is difficult to achieve by other methods. A textile woven with such biomimetic fibers shows an excellent thermal insulation property as well as good breathability and wearability. In addition to passively insulating heat loss, the textile can also function as a wearable heater, when doped with electroheating materials such as carbon nanotubes, to induce fast thermal response and uniform electroheating while maintaining its soft and porous nature for comfortable wearing.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物仿生学
·
能源工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Algal Research-Biomass Biofuels and Bioproducts
·
2021
·
IF 4.401
Minxi Wan,Haoyu Zhao,Jiacai Guo,Lulu Yan,Daojing Zhang,Wenmin Bai,Yuanguang Li
C-phycocyanin is a natural blue-colored biliprotein with various biological activities. Commercial C-phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis has poor stability, which severely limits its application in food, medicine, cosmetics, and other industries. Extremophilic red algae Galdieria sulphuraria is found in hot springs with a pH of 1–3 and temperature above 40 °C. Hence, C-phycocyanin from G. sulphuraria has the potential to withstand high temperatures. This study aimed to compare the stability of C-phycocyanins from G. sulphuraria and S. platensis under different pH, temperature, stabilizer concentration, and light conditions. The results showed that C-phycocyanin from G. sulphuraria was more stable than that from S. platensis under all conditions, especially in the range of 50–65 °C, and in neutral environment of pH 7. After 30 min incubation at 60 °C and pH 7, the color preservation rate of C-phycocyanins from G. sulphuraria and S. platensis were 86.66% and 60.83%, respectively. The kinetic analysis revealed that under the influence of the stabilizer, the stabilities of both phycocyanins were improved. However, C-phycocyanin from G. sulphuraria obtained the highest mid-unfolding temperature of 73.00 °C compared with 69.81 °C for that of C-phycocyanin from S. platensis . In addition, the antioxidant capacity of two phycocyanins was similar. Therefore, C-phycocyanin from G. sulphuraria is an excellent alternative to the current commercial C-phycocyanin.
研究领域:
生物化学
·
食品科学
·
分子生物学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Energy Storage
·
2022
·
IF 8.907
Yang Tian,Xianglei Liu,Li Zhang,Qinyang Luo,Qiao Xu,Haichen Yao,Fengyi Yang,Jianguo Wang,Chunzhuo Dang,Yiming Xuan
The eutectic salt as latent heat storage (LHS) media has been widely employed in various fields, but its thermophysical properties are difficult to be predicted accurately. Here, a prediction model of thermophysical properties of eutectic salts based on the backpropagation (BP) artificial neural network method combined with bio-inspired algorithms (polar bear optimization (PBO) or genetic algorithm (GA)) is proposed. The average prediction error of melting temperature of 26 chlorine eutectic salts is the lowest by employing the BP-PBO algorithm, which is reduced by 42 % and 38 % compared to the BP algorithm and BP-GA, respectively. The advantage of BP-PBO is more obvious in predicting phase change enthalpy of chlorine eutectic salts, whose average error decreases by 71 % and 68 % compared with BP and BP-GA, respectively. For more intuitive comparisons, experiment measurements, BP-PBO, phase diagram , and molecular dynamics are used for characterizing thermophysical properties of fabricated KCl-LiCl eutectics. Again, BP-PBO demonstrates extremely accurate prediction performance and unique advantage of avoiding the difficulty of choosing appropriate phase equilibrium data or potential functions. The work provides accurate and fast prediction methods of thermophysical properties of chlorine eutectic salts and guides their designs for different applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
·
2022
·
IF 10.383
Jing Wang,Xiameng Shan,Peiying Hu,Chengjiao Zhang,Dengsen Yuan,Xueyan Hu,Jin Wang
Passive thermal regulation has attracted increasing interest owing to its zero-energy consumption capacity, which is expected to alleviate current crises in fossil energy and global warming. In this study, a biomimetic multilayer structure (BMS) comprising a silica aerogel, a photothermal conversion material (PTCM), and a phase change material (PCM) layer is designed inspired by the physiological skin structure of polar bears for passive heating with desirable temperature and endurance. The transparent silica aerogel functions as transparent hairs and allows solar entry and prevents heat dissipation; the PTCM, a glass plate coated with black paint, acts as the black skin to convert the incident sunlight into heat; and the PCM composed of n-octadecane microcapsules stores the heat, regulating temperature and increasing endurance. Impressively, outdoor and simulated experiments indicate efficient passive heating (increment of 60 °C) of the BMS in cold environments, and endurance of 157 and 92 min is achieved compared to a single aerogel and PTCM layer, respectively. The uses of the BMS for passive heating of model houses in winter show an increase of 12.1 °C. COMSOL simulation of the BMSs in high latitudes indicates robust heating and endurance performance in a −20 °C weather. The BMS developed in this study exhibits a smart thermal regulation behavior and paves the way for passive heating in remote areas where electricity and fossil energy are unavailable in cold seasons.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源工程
·
仿生学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Algal Research-Biomass Biofuels and Bioproducts
·
2024
·
IF 4.6
Tong Wang,Meng Gao,Hong Song,Changhai Wang,Meilin He
Polar microalgae, renowned for their exceptional adaptability in extreme environments, are vital for carbon fixation and nutrient cycling. To understand their metabolic resilience under low temperature and high light stress, we conducted an extensive biochemical and full-length transcriptome analysis of Arctic Chlorella ( Chlorella- Arc) and temperate Chlorella ( Chlorella- Temp). This research aimed to comprehensively assess Chlorella 's adaptability to the interactive effects of temperature and light stress. Under low-temperature stress, intense light inhibited Chlorella -Temp growth by 14.8 %, while it significantly promoted Chlorella -Arc growth by 88.8 %. The cold-adapted Chlorella -Arc demonstrates higher tolerance to high light stress. Elevated temperature (+0.80) and light (+0.47) directly increased cell density, revealing direct and indirect effects of temperature and light on Chlorella- Arc bioproducts via structural equation modeling. We then analyzed key molecules involved in lipid metabolism using orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis, confirmed that Chlorella -Arc maintained a relatively constant fatty acids composition under low temperature and high light stress. Compared to its temperate counterpart, Chlorella -Arc exhibits unique adaptability by modulating polysaccharide composition, downregulating carbon fixation, reducing nitrogen absorption, and maintaining stable unsaturated fatty acid levels with a higher unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio. Chlorella- Arc, a prime example of polar microalgae adaptability, exhibits unique metabolic responses. Compared to the low-temperature normal-light group, the high-light Chlorella demonstrates precise regulation of nitrogen uptake and carbon allocation, while activating multiple antioxidant pathways to mitigate the increase in ROS levels under light stress. Acclimated Chlorella- Arc tends to increase triacylglycerol accumulation, suggesting a shift in carbon flow towards lipid production. Our analyses reveal specialized adjustments, enabling survival in harsh conditions of low temperature and intense light. This research enhances our understanding of microalgal resilience in extreme environments, offers valuable insights into the utilization of polar microalgal bioproduct resources.
研究领域:
藻类生物学
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环境科学
·
代谢组学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2025
·
IF 19
Delong Han,Yuting Cai,Xinze Wang,Weining Zhang,Xusheng Li,Zhaoru Hou,Jiahui Liu,Dengke Song,Wenlong Xu
Traditional hydrogels tend to freeze and lose performance at low temperatures, limiting their applications. Additionally, hydrogels need to exhibit low hysteresis, excellent cycling stability, and self-adhesion to ensure high-quality signal acquisition in complex environments. To address this challenge, this study designed a dual-network gel in a glycerol (Gly)/H 2 O solvent system. Due to the combination of chemical and physical crosslinking (hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions), the resulting gel exhibits skin-adaptive modulus, high cycling stability, anti-freezing ability, body temperature-induced adhesion, and excellent electrical performance, making it suitable for wearable sensors at low temperatures. Based on this gel, a single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator (gel-TENG) is developed, achieving efficient conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy. Further applied to a smart insole, it successfully enabled real-time visualization of plantar pressure distribution and skiing motion recognition. Using a random forest machine learning algorithm, the system accurately classified 11 basic skiing motions, achieving a classification accuracy of 97.1%. This study advances flexible sensors and self-powered systems, supporting intelligent materials research in extreme environments.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物医学工程
·
机器学习
·
传感器技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMOSPHERE
·
2021
·
IF 7.086
Xiaoyu Jiao,Congcong He,Huan Yu,Jun He,Chengjun Wang
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), of which the surface is a dynamic liquid water layer and might consist of aqueous HNO 3 and H 2 O 2 , is a well-known key meteorological condition contributing to the ozone hole in the polar stratosphere . PSCs has been considered to provide abundant surface for the heterogeneous reactions causing the formation of the Cl 2 and HOCl, which are further photolyzed into Cl and ClO radicals leading to the ozone destruction. Here we demonstrated that the sunlight drives the massive and stable production of OH radicals in aqueous HNO 3 and its main photo-induced byproduct HNO 2 . We also found that the photo-generated OH radicals in aqueous HNO 3 , HNO 2 and H 2 O 2 have the remarkable capability to react with the dissolved HCl , Cl − and Br − to form halogen radicals. In addition, we observed that the H 2 O 2 can react with dissolved HCl and Br − in darkness to form and release Cl 2 and Br 2 gases, which could further be photolyzed into reactive halogen radicals whenever sunlight is available. All these findings suggest that, except for the well-known heterogeneous reactions, photochemical reactions involving the aqueous HNO 3 and H 2 O 2 on and within PSCs surface might constitute another important halogen activation pathway for ozone destruction. This study may shed deeper insights into the mechanism of halogen radicals resulting in ozone depletion in polar stratosphere.
研究领域:
大气科学
·
环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Applied Materials Today
·
2025
·
IF 6.9
Xin Zhang,Wenqing Hai,Junjie Pan,Ye Zhang,Xiang Chen,Zhihao Li,Wenlong Huang,Jinhua Jiang,Siyi Bi,Huiqi Shao,Nanliang Chen,Guangwei Shao
Multifunctional flexible wearable electronic devices will become an important trend in the future development of intelligent electronics. Concurrently, researchers have also turned their attention to reducing the energy consumption of devices during system operation. Here, a flexible, stretchable plush fabric is first knitted by using core-spun yarn similar to the structure of polar bear fur as the raw material, with full rib stitch and weft inlay stitch as the fabric structure. Furthermore, the e-textiles are developed by direct in situ polymerization of polydopamine (PDA) and polypyrrole (PPy) to endow plush fabrics with electrical conductivity. Thanks to the increased contact area of yarn-to-yarn due to the fluff-like appearance and tight fabric construction, our e-textile has high electrical conductivity (1559 S/cm). On the one hand, the test power consumption is reduced, and on the other hand, the e-textile has excellent sensitivity (GF max = -1.75) and a broad sensing range (30%), making it ideal for monitoring the state of human motion and facilitating communication. Moreover, the e-textile excels in electrothermal conversion capabilities (up to 89.5 °C at 13 V), photothermal conversion efficiency (achieving 109 °C at 200 mW/cm 2 ), and scalable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding characteristics within the X-band (22 dB). Consequently, biomimetic design provides a viable pathway for the development of adaptable multifunctional wearable devices.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
柔性电子
·
生物仿生学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2020
·
IF 10.652
Yujie Wang,Ying Cui,Ziyu Shao,Weiwei Gao,Wei Fan,Tianxi Liu,Hao Bai
Thermoregulating textiles (or protective clothing) are highly demanded for both human health and labor productivity especially in hot working environments. It is challenging to balance wearability and thermal insulating property as they usually demand for opposite porosity. Here, learning from the porous structure of polar bear hair, we report a polyimide aerogel fiber obtained by a freeze-spinning technique. A textile woven with such polyimide fiber is thermally insulating, strong and highly stretchable, fire-retardant (or self-extinguishing), and temperature-resistant. Additionally, it can be readily incorporated with other functions such as acid alkali resistance and thermoregulation by surface modification and infiltration of phase change material. All these properties indicate its potential in protective clothing in hot environments. With the versatility and scalability, our approach paves a new way for fabricating smart textiles with well-defined microstructure and multifunctionality by learning from nature.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
仿生学
·
纺织工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Applied Nano Materials
·
2024
·
IF 5.3
Hao Gu,Yi Jiang,Xijia Yang,Yue Yang,Xuesong Li,Liying Wang,Wei Lü
Flexible and wearable pressure sensors have attracted significant attention due to their wide range of potential applications. However, they often suffer from low sensitivity, narrow pressure detection range, and poor mechanical flexibility. In this work, a multifunctional 3D pressure sensor based on a ternary metal oxide@carbon-based sponge (C–NiCoZn–O/CMF) was developed by the hydrothermal method. The pressure feedback layer of the sensor was uniformly coated with C–NiCoZn–O on the surface of the framework, which improved the device’s conductivity, sensitivity, and stability significantly. The sensitivities of 41.99, 23.39, and 11.19 kPa–1 are in the ranges 0–4.01, 4.01–8.39, and 8.39–20.1 kPa, respectively, and the cyclic retention rate exceeded 90% after 2000 cycles. The C–NiCoZn–O/CMF composite demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance as an electrode for supercapacitors, with a high specific capacity of 2030 mF/cm2 at a current density of 1 mA/cm2 and a high capacity retention rate of 81.55% after 4000 cycles. As a multifunctional device, when integrated with a microprocessor, it can easily detect and process a large amount of human physiological signal data in daily work scenarios. Present composites maintain adjustable conductivity and extremely high elasticity even under extreme conditions such as liquid nitrogen and high temperatures up to 85.6 °C. This work is expected to play a great role in polar exploration, volcano survey, deep space exploration, etc.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
传感器
·
纳米技术
·
电化学
·
柔性电子学
·
可穿戴设备
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Materials Letters
·
2024
·
IF 9.6
Zaizheng Sun,Jinming Liu,Haiming Chen,Dongsheng Mao
With the in-depth exploration of extreme environments in polar, mountainous areas, and outer space, the demand for ultralow temperature resistant adhesives is increasing. However, for most adhesives used, represented by epoxy and acrylic resins, this is almost impossible due to their extensive intermolecular interaction and rigid three-dimensional (3D) network structure. Herein, an adhesive with a well-designed hard–soft phase separation structure has been developed in this work, which exhibits excellent bonding strength and debonding performance when bonded to metals (stainless steel and aluminum) and nonmetallic materials (polycarbonate) at −80 °C. The bonding strength and debonding energy with stainless steel reached 35.7 MPa and 61.16 kN/m, respectively, which is 5 times higher than those reported in the literature. Moreover, the adhesive exhibits good stability after 10 cycles of rapid cooling and heating between −196–50 °C. Finally, the mechanism behind the excellent bonding was verified, which stems from the strong polarity of the hard segments and the hardening of the soft segments.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
胶粘技术
·
高分子化学
✓ 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）