Separation materials integrating robust fouling resistance and switchable wettability have been considered as promising candidates for oily sewage treatment, but there is still great challenge. Inspired by goose feathers, a unique antifouling mesh with liquid-adaptive wettability was prepared by in situ electrochemical growth of feather-like copper arrays on stainless steel mesh. The hierarchical feather-like copper arrays not only reduced the mesh pore sizes to improve its separation efficiency (98.9%), but also captured oil or water by simple pre-infusion to form a robust liquid cushion to tune the mesh wettability. The formed robust liquid cushion also endowed the mesh with outstanding antifouling abilities. Thus, the mesh exhibited excellent on-demand separation performance for various oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions. Besides, the mesh exhibited durable liquid-adaptive wettability in harsh environment, promising application in separating dual emulsions.
Background The demand for high-power density packaging and integration processes for third-generation semiconductors, like silicon carbide (SiC), necessitates advancements beyond conventional Si-based packaging technologies. Cu-Cu direct bonding emerges as a promising alternative in semiconductor packaging. However, achieving Cu-to-Cu direct bonding with low-temperature, low-pressure, and short-time poses significant challenges. Transient Liquid Phase Bonding (TLP) offers a low-temperature joining solution, but prolonged reflow time hinders its wide applications. Methods This study introduces a novel strategy utilizing bicontinuous microemulsion (BME) electrodeposition to fabricate micron-sized Cu arrays, addressing these challenges in achieving Cu bonding. The core of Cu array manufacturing lies in the differential electrodeposition rate of Cu ions in the aqueous and organic phases. This principle is rooted in the excellent conductivity of the aqueous solution compared to the non-conductivity of the organic solution. Significant findings We elucidate the growth mechanism and validate a theory for achieving void-free optimal growth of Cu arrays within BME and compared the cross-sectional morphology and fracture modes of TLP solder joints with micron and nano Cu arrays. Furthermore, the ability to recycle the BME soft template aligns with green chemistry principles, offering a sustainable die-attach approach for third-generation semiconductor device packaging.
To address the challenges of low hydrodechlorination efficiency by non-noble metals, a Cu Ni bimetallic cathode with nanostructured copper array film was fabricated for effective electrochemical dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) in aqueous solution. The Cu Ni bimetallic cathodes were prepared by a simple one-step electrodeposition of copper onto the Ni foam substrate, with various electrodeposition time of 5/10/15/20 min. The optimum electrodeposition time was 10 min when copper was coated as a uniform nanosheet array on the nickel foam substrate surface. This cathode exhibited the highest TCE removal, which was twice higher compared to that of the nickel foam cathode. At the same passed charge of 1080C, TCE removal increased from 33.9 ± 3.3% to 99.7 ± 0.1% with the increasing operation current from 5 to 20 mA cm −2 , while the normalized energy consumption decreased from 15.1 ± 1.0 to 2.6 ± 0.01 kWh log −1 m −3 . The decreased normalized energy consumption at a higher current density was due to the much higher removal efficiency at a higher current. These results suggest that Cu Ni cathodes prepared by simple electrodeposition method represent a promising and cost-effective approach for enhanced electrochemical dechlorination.