Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials
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2022
·Vol. 5
·期 2
·1221-1232
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IF 11.806
Zhang Chentao,Sun Jiaxun,Lyu Sha,Lu Zhengyang,Li Tao,Yang Ye,Li Bin,Han He,Wu Bangyao,Sun Haoyang,Li Dandan,Huang Jintao,Sun Dazhi
The worldwide pandemic, coronavirus COVID-19, has been posing a serious threat to the global economy and security in last 2 years. The monthly consumption and subsequent discarding of 129 billion masks (equivalent to 645,000 tons) pose a serious detrimental impact on environmental sustainability. In this study, we report a novel type of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with supreme filtration performance and controllable degradation rates, which are mainly composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and artificially cultured diatom frustules (DFs). In this way, the filtration efficiency of particular matter (PM) and the pressure drop were significantly improved in the prepared PLA/DFs NFMs as compared with the neat PLA NFM. In specific, with incorporation of 5% DFs into fibers, PM 0.3 removal with a filtration efficiency of over 99% and a pressure drop of 109 Pa were achieved with a membrane thickness of only 0.1 mm. Moreover, the yield strength and crystallinity degree of the PLA/DFs5 NFMs were sharply increased from 1.88 Mpa and 26.37% to 2.72 Mpa and 30.02%. Besides those unique characters, the PLA/DFs5 presented excellent degradability, accompanied by the degradation of 38% in 0.01 M sodium hydroxide solution after 7 days and approximately 100% in natural condition after 42 days, respectively. Meanwhile, the environmentally friendly raw materials of the composite polylactic acid and artificially cultured diatom frustules could be extracted from corn-derived biomass and artificially cultivated diatoms, ensuring the conformance to carbon neutrality and promising applications in personal protection. Graphical abstract
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境科学
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生物医学工程
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Micromachines
·
2021
·Vol. 12
·期 9
·1017
·
IF 2.891
Zhenhu Wang,De Gong,Jun Cai
Diatom frustules are a type of natural biomaterials that feature regular shape and intricate hierarchical micro/nano structures. They have shown excellent performance in biosensing, yet few studies have been performed on flow-through detection. In this study, diatom frustules were patterned into step-through holes and bonded with silicon substrate to form an open-ended filtration array. Then they were fixed into a microfluidic chip with a smartphone-based POCT. Human IgG and FITC-labeled goat–anti-human IgG were adopted to investigate the adsorption enhancement when analyte flowed through diatom frustules. The results indicated up to 16-fold enhancement of fluorescent signal sensitivity for the flow-through mode compared with flow-over mode, at a low concentration of 10.0 μg/mL. Moreover, the maximum flow rate reached 2.0 μL/s, which resulted in a significant decrease in the testing time in POCT. The adsorption simulation results of diatom array embedded in the microchannel shows good agreement with experimental results, which further proves the filtration enrichment effect of the diatom array. The methods put forward in this study may open a new window for the application of diatom frustules in biosensing platforms.Keywords:diatom frustules;array;flow-through;microfluidic chip;POCT;biosensing
研究领域:
生物传感器
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微流控技术
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即时检测
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
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2024
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IF 10.7
Tonghui Li,Wenfei Shen,Zaixin Long,Yanying Zhang,Yao Wang,Wei Wang,Zhonglin Du,Jiuxing Wang,Laurence A. Belfiore,Olle Inganäs,Jianguo Tang
UV protection of polymer solar cells is significant to extend the duration of life and to improve their efficiency. Diatom shells doped with Eu3+/Tb3+ complexes (ETDSs) can be used as an efficient absorber and down-conversion agent for these purposes. In this work, the goal is effective UV protection and photovoltaic efficiency enhancement of polymer solar cells using DSs doped with Eu3+/Tb3+ complexes. These Eu3+/Tb3+ complexes in DSs are anchored at porous walls through a grafted coupling agent. As a strong UV absorber and efficiency enhancer, ETDSs were compounded into the cellulose acetate (CA) matrix to get an ETDS@CA flexible luminescent film. This luminescent film with high UV absorption in the range of 200–400 nm down converts UV photons into photons in visible, at 612 nm. We spin-coat the mixture solution of ETDS and CA onto the back surface of the transparent ITO/glass electrode to set up the ETDS@CA protected polymer solar cell. In this way, both UV protection and polymer solar cell efficiency enhancement are achieved. The experimental data indicated that ETDS@CA coated polymer solar cells can maintain 80% of the initial efficiency after UV-radiation for 1000 h, compared with 40% of unprotected polymer solar cells. Correspondingly, the efficiency of polymer solar cells has been enhanced by 4%. This method can be developed into a new and highly efficient way to UV protect polymer solar cells, as the original structure of polymer solar cells is not modified, with only an additional UV protection layer on the other side of the substrate.
研究领域:
材料科学
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光电子学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Advanced Sustainable Systems
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2025
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IF 6.1
Shi-mao Sun,Xing-fu Zheng,Hong-chang Liu,Wei-qi Xie,Hong-wei Liu,Ze Shen,Chen-kai Shang,Can Liu,Yun-chao Li,Jian Zhu,Jun Wang
Using diatoms, a typical microbial system of biomineralization, as a template, La 2 O 3 and Y 2 O 3 are synthesized in situ via biological self-assembly during the cultivation of diatoms in La 3+ /Y 3+ -containing media without any supplements, reducing agents or triggering agents. Then, diatom frustules modified with La and Y nanoparticles (NPs) are prepared via high-temperature reduction and crystallization. Furthermore, it has been used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries and has excellent electrochemical properties. The DFT calculations reveal that the doping of La and Y changes the energy band structure near the Fermi level of SiO 2 and increases the current carrying density. The diatom frustule SiO 2 anodes loaded with La and Y nanoparticles (DBS@C-La-10 and DBS@C-Y-10) have specific discharge capacities of approximately 1021.3 and 980.7 mAh g −1 , respectively, after 220 cycles. This is the first study in which the mineralization behavior of rare earth elements on diatom frustules is reported and applied to anodes in lithium-ion batteries. This work provides a new option for applying rare earth elements in the field of energy storage.
研究领域:
材料科学
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生物学
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能源存储
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
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2022
·
IF 9.221
Dongyan Zhou,Shaoyong Cai,Haoyang Sun,Gansheng Zhong,He Zhang,Dazhi Sun,Fengyu Su,Mengyu Deng,Yanqing Tian
Dissolved oxygen (DO) sensors for the practical application usually require good resistance to complex and extreme environments, such as acidic or alkaline corrosion , seawater sediment erosion, protein or bacteria adhesion, etc. Diatom frustules (DFs) are protective shell structures extracted from diatoms, which have delicate hierarchical pores and a large specific surface area, showing their utilization potential as oxygen sensing materials. Herein, we developed a superhydrophobic DO sensor which use the DFs as matrix materials . The sensor was fabricated by spraying the mixture of 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTS) modified DFs and oxygen-sensitive probe platinum (II)− 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl)-porphyrin (PtTFPP) on the bonding substrate. In the DO sensor, DFs provides a tough micro/nano surface structures and PFOTS offers low surface energy, both of which led to a robust superhydrophobic surface of the sensor. Because of the porous structure of DFs and the diffusion enhancement effect of fluorine on oxygen, the sensor has high DO sensitivity , I 0 /I 100 which represents for oxygen sensitivity reaches up to 129. Additionally, the sensor showed good tolerance on mechanical abrasion , acidic or alkaline corrosion and biofouling. Owing to these good performances, the use of DFs is expected to provide a new strategy for the rational design of high performance DO sensing devices.
研究领域:
材料科学
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生物工程
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
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2022
·
IF 9.224
Haoyang Sun,Ye Yang,Tao Li,Sha Lyu,Fengfan Chen,Maoning Li,Chentao Zhang,Dandan Li,Dazhi Sun
Solid–liquid phase-change materials (PCMs) offer exciting potential for energy conservation, but they suffer from a vital drawback of significant leakage. To overcome this issue, we develop a new strategy to obtain high-performance leakage-proof shape-stable phase-change materials (ss-PCMs) by the combination of an inner porous frame and outer superhydrophobic covers. Paraffin wax as PCM was first trapped into artificially cultured diatom frustule-derived porous ceramics, which was then encapsulated using diatom frustule-based superhydrophobic coatings. The prepared ss-PCMs exhibit a wax loading of 52.28 wt % with a melting enthalpy of 117.5 J·g–1 and a high stability even after 500 thermal cycles as well as a 72.7% increase in thermal conductivity. In addition, the prepared ss-PCMs show a compressive strength of as high as 13.0 MPa. The superhydrophobic coatings provide ss-PCMs with superior chemical resistance and excellent mechanical robustness under long-distance abrasion, cyclic tape-peeling, and water jet impact. This porous ceramic-embedded, superhydrophobic coating-encapsulated strategy for obtaining high-performance ss-PCMs is expected to find potential applications in energy-efficient buildings, thermal management in electronic devices, self-cleaning materials, and so on.
研究领域:
材料科学
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能源工程
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纳米技术
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热管理
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
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2025
·
IF 7.2
Chun Han,Yang Zhao,Mengmeng Zhang,Haiyan Pei
This study represents the first attempt to employ underutilized diatom frustules (DF) as a scaffold to enhance the dispersion and formation of zero-valent iron (ZVI), aiming to overcome the rapid passivation of ZVI in conventional zero-valent iron–activated peracetic acid (ZVI/PAA) system. Through use of a liquid-phase reduction method, a novel material, ZVI@DF, was synthesized. By adjusting the DF doping amount, the physicochemical properties of ZVI@DF can be modified. Under optimal conditions, the ZVI@DF/PAA system achieved over 98% methylene blue (MB) removal within 30 minutes, demonstrating a 30% efficiency improvement compared to conventional ZVI/PAA. The research also examined common water quality parameters, confirming that typical anions have minimal impact on the performance of the ZVI@DF/PAA system, resulting in stable pollutant removal efficiency. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments confirmed that HO•, R-O•, and •O 2 − radicals induced by ZVI activating PAA via silanol groups on DF are the main species for MB degradation. After four cycles, ZVI@DF maintains over 85% MB degradation efficiency. The amorphous silica nanoflower structure formed by doping with a small amount of DF significantly delays passivation, providing active sites for generating radicals to degrade pollutants. This study provides a new strategy for purifying emerging pollutants, recovering underutilized diatom materials, and activating PAA.
研究领域:
环境科学
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材料科学
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化学工程
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水处理技术
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2025
·
IF 19
Xinyu Li,Xinjian He,Cunmin Wang,Jiaqi Li,Xinyi Song,Xiang Li,Yue Zhao,Xiao-Peng Li,Heguo Li,Xiaolei Wang,Jiefeng Gao,Huan Xu
Effective respiratory protection is crucial against airborne PM pollution and modern viral pandemics. However, conventional filters often exhibit poor moisture management, where exhaled vapor condenses within the mask microenvironment, compromising comfort and increasing breathing resistance due to liquid bridging. Herein, inspired by hierarchical porous architecture and amphiphilicity of diatom frustules, a biomimetic multi-gradient (BMG) strategy is proposed to engender poly(lactic acid) meta-membranes featuring an exceptional combination of efficient protective performance and superb moisture management. A hierarchical gradient structure comprising macroporous and microporous layers is constructed, mimicking the areola and cribrum structures of diatoms. By incorporating interfacial orientation factors, a progressive transition in wettability from hydrophobic to hydrophilic is achieved for the membranes, reproducing the wax-silanol-directed interfacial regulation mechanism of diatoms. Simultaneously, nanodielectrics dispersed by biotemplating effect emulated the metal-doped biosilica in diatoms to achieve charge confinement, enhancing charge trapping and storage capabilities of the membranes. The bioinspired meta-membranes demonstrated exceptional PM 0.3 filtration efficiency (96.26%), ultralow airflow resistance (40 Pa, 32 L min −1 ), and superior moisture permeability (WVTR: 223.5 g m −2 h −1 ), effectively facilitating the moisture wicking and long-term stability under high-humidity environments. This work offers a biomimetic paradigm for developing next-generation and eco-friendly protective materials with sustained comfort and high efficiency.
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境工程
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生物医学工程
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仿生学
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高分子科学
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空气过滤技术
✓ 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）