Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ruilin Su, Simin Li, Wanlin Wu, Chao Song, Guoqiang Liu, Yang Yu
Summary: Membrane separation technology, especially using electrospinning for nanofibrous membranes, has shown great potential in treating oily wastewater and oil-contaminated water due to its flexibility and high efficiency. Recent advancements in superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic electrospun nanofibrous membranes have demonstrated promising oil/water separation performance.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jiwang Chen, Ze-Xian Low, Shasha Feng, Zhaoxiang Zhong, Weihong Xing, Huanting Wang
Summary: This article introduces the characteristics and applications of membranes with asymmetric wettability, highlighting their better transport performance and separation efficiency compared to traditional membranes.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Review
Materials Science, Textiles
Jichao Zhang, Lifang Liu, Yang Si, Shichao Zhang, Jianyong Yu
Summary: Pollution from emulsified oil/water mixtures poses a serious threat to ecosystems and human health, driving the development of advanced separation materials. Electrospun nanofibrous materials are gaining attention due to their controllable wettability, diverse pore structures, and excellent pore connectivity for emulsion separation. Through systematic design and construction, nanofibrous materials categorized into membranes with small pore size, membranes with hierarchical fibers, and aerogel with tortuous microchannels demonstrate potential for effective separation.
JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jiwang Chen, Yuanyuan Rao, Xiao Zhu, Jiaxuan Wang, Xingbo Tang, Shasha Feng, Feng Zhang, Zhaoxiang Zhong, Weihong Xing
Summary: This study successfully improved the moisture management, antibacterial performance, and PM capture ability of air cleaning materials by incorporating CTAB in the nanofiber composite PVDF/PAN-CTAB membrane. The enhanced moisture management performance was achieved by regulating the microstructure of the nanofibers and the thickness ratio of the asymmetric wetting layers. The study also provided a detailed investigation into directional water transport behavior based on force test and analysis.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Zhibin Qi, Yuanfa Liu, Qiang Gao, Dawei Tao, Ying Wang, Jing Guo, Yue Yu
Summary: The rapid industrial development and frequent oil spills have resulted in the generation of large amounts of oily wastewater. In this study, a CO2-responsive PAN-co-PDEAEMA nanofiber membrane with gas-tunable wettability was fabricated to achieve efficient oil/water separation. The membrane, with its carbon dioxide responsiveness and hierarchical nanostructures, allowed for switchable separation driven by gravity. The membrane demonstrated high efficiency and good repeatability, making it a promising material for oily wastewater treatment.
REACTIVE & FUNCTIONAL POLYMERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Yi Wang, Weijie Zhai, Junhan Li, Haotian Liu, Chong Li, Jinghua Li
Summary: This study investigated the tribological properties of electrospun polylactic acid (PLA) membranes and enzyme-degraded PLA (ED-PLA) membranes, and discussed effective strategies to improve the surface lubrication performance of polyester membranes. The research aims to realize the importance of surface tribological performance of implanted biomaterials and provide technical standards for friction tests.
TRIBOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Tianwei Huo, Feiran Li, Keda Jiang, Wenting Kong, Xuezeng Zhao, Zhuang Hao, Yunlu Pan
Summary: An ultraviolet-driven selective-superwetting nanofibrous membrane was prepared by electrospinning, which shows great potential in the field of oil-water separation. The wetting behavior of the membrane can be tuned by UV irradiation and heating, demonstrating reliable controllability.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jichao Zhang, Jun Song, Lifang Liu, Peng Zhang, Yang Si, Shichao Zhang, Jianyong Yu, Bin Ding
Summary: Inspired by the taro leaf, a biomimetic nanofibrous membrane has been developed for efficient separation of oil-in-water emulsions, showcasing excellent superhydrophilicity, underwater superoleophobicity, and low oil adhesion. The membrane also exhibits self-cleaning properties and high flux recovery ratio, offering a new solution for wastewater purification.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Minglun Li, Eva Loccufier, Jozefien Geltmeyer, Dagmar R. D'hooge, Klaartje De Buysser, Karen De Clerck
Summary: Highly stable hydrophobic silica-based membranes were successfully fabricated through chemical post-modification. The modified membrane exhibited long-term hydrophobicity even under harsh conditions and showed good separation effectiveness and wetting behavior, making it suitable for process intensification and solvent gating.
ADVANCED FIBER MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Mahmoud A. Abdulhamid, Khatri Muzamil
Summary: Developing new polymer membranes with thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability has potential for environmental remediation applications such as wastewater treatment and air filtration. Membrane-based technologies play a critical role in water purification and air filtration. Electrospun nanofiber membranes have shown excellent performance in removing contaminants from water and filtering the air. The performance of polymer membranes can be enhanced by fine-tuning structure, varying surface properties, and strengthening membrane porosity.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ying Su, Tingting Fan, Wenying Cui, Yanan Li, Seeram Ramakrishna, Yunze Long
Summary: This article reviews the recent progress of various electrospun nanofibrous materials in the field of oil/water separation, including the preparation and synthesis of adsorbents, membranes, and aerogels. The challenges and future development directions in oil/water separation are also discussed.
ADVANCED FIBER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mengdi Xu, Jinxue Cheng, Xiongfei Du, Qiang Guo, Yan Huang, Qinglin Huang
Summary: This study developed an amphiphobic PTFE nanofibrous membrane with enhanced anti-wetting and anti-fouling properties, showing stable flux and excellent salt rejection in MD process. The membrane exhibited strong water and oil repellency and demonstrated good stability and reusability, suggesting promising application prospects, especially in harsh environments.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Stefano Alberti, Andrea Dodero, Emanuela Sartori, Silvia Vicini, Maurizio Ferretti, Maila Castellano
Summary: This study prepares water-borne polyurethane composite membranes containing TiO2 active particles via electrospinning using water as the sole solvent, which are then used for photocatalytic wastewater treatment. The fabricated mats exhibit excellent properties and have potential applications in wastewater treatment.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Peng, Yan Ma, Yu Bao, Zulan Liu, Li Chen, Fangyin Dai, Zhi Li
Summary: The combination of PLGA/SF/ART2 composite membranes with anti-inflammatory properties can be an appropriate dressing for chronic wound healing.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Misbah Batool, Hasan B. Albargi, Adnan Ahmad, Zahid Sarwar, Zubair Khaliq, Muhammad Bilal Qadir, Salman Noshear Arshad, Rizwan Tahir, Sultan Ali, Mohammed Jalalah, Muhammad Irfan, Farid A. Harraz
Summary: A novel bubbled-structured silica nanoparticle (SiO2) decorated electrospun polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous membrane (SiO2@PU-NFs) was prepared. The membrane exhibited a nanoscale hierarchical surface roughness and superhydrophobicity, along with excellent mechanical properties and breathability. It also showed high water/oil separation efficiency and maintained its superhydrophobic quality under severe conditions. This composite structure could be used in various functional applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Eva Loccufier, Geert Watson, Yingrui Zhao, Maria Meledina, Robbe Denis, Parviz Gohari Derakhshandeh, Pascal Van Der Voort, Karen Leus, Damien P. Debecker, Klaartje De Buysser, Karen De Clerck
Summary: The challenge of converting CO2 and H2 into fuels can be addressed by developing a stable, reusable, and easy to handle heterogeneous catalyst. In this study, Ru nanoparticles were encapsulated inside the metal organic framework Cr-MIL-101 and loaded onto a silica nanofibrous membrane. The resulting catalytic membrane showed promising performance for the Sabatier methanation reaction, paving the way for efficient CO2 hydrogenation processes.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
S. Verschraegen, E. Loccufier, L. De Keer, P. H. M. Van Steenberge, K. De Buysser, K. De Clerck, D. R. D'hooge
Summary: Organosilica sol-gel synthesis is a crucial chemical process for producing advanced functional network materials. This study addresses the lack of understanding of the chemical kinetics in this process and provides Arrhenius parameters for the key reactions involved. A Si-29 NMR protocol is proposed to quantitatively track the reactions at any process temperature, allowing for better characterization and analysis. The tuned Arrhenius parameters enable a better understanding of the isothermal and non-isothermal kinetics, leading to improved synthesis of sol/gel-like precursor solutions for various applications.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Evert Dhaene, Simon Coppenolle, Loren Deblock, Klaartje De Buysser, Jonathan De Roo
Summary: We introduced monoalkyl phosphinic acids as ligands for nanocrystal (NC) synthesis, which show interesting reactivity differences compared to other ligands and provide a cleaner work-up in comparison to phosphonates. In this study, we investigated the binding affinity of monoalkyl phosphinate ligands with respect to other ligands through competitive ligand exchange reactions on the surface of NCs. Our results showed that carboxylate ligands can be easily exchanged with monoalkyl phosphinic acids, while an equilibrium is reached between monoalkyl phosphinates and phosphonates, slightly favoring phosphonate. These findings enable the sophisticated use of monoalkyl phosphinic acids for NC synthesis and post-synthetic surface engineering.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Hannes Rijckaert, Klaartje De Buysser, Isabel Van Driessche
Summary: Chemical solution deposition (CSD) approach was used to simplify and optimize the trifluoracetic based MTiO3 precursor solution, resulting in high shelf-life and purity. The growth of MTO solutions on (100) LaAlO3 single-crystal substrates produced (h00) oriented and dense MTO buffer layers. However, the roughness of MTO films and the lattice mismatch between MTO buffer layer and superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-delta film are crucial for film formation.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dietger van den Eynden, Rohan Pokratath, Jikson Pulparayil Mathew, Eline Goossens, Klaartje De Buysser, Jonathan De Roo
Summary: In this study, zirconium and hafnium oxo clusters were synthesized using fatty acid ligands. X-ray scattering and PDF analysis were used to determine the structure of the clusters, and the conversion from Zr6 monomer to Zr12 dimer was elucidated. The catalytic performance of the oxo clusters in the esterification reaction was compared to zirconium oxide nanocrystals, showing a higher reaction rate due to their higher surface area.
Article
Polymer Science
Hannelore Ohnmacht, Rudinei Fiorio, Tom Wieme, Dagmar R. D'hooge, Ludwig Cardon, Mariya Edeleva
Summary: This study investigates 15 hybrid filler composites containing aluminum oxide, graphite, expanded graphite, carbon nanotubes, or a combination of these fillers, using extrusion-compression processing. The experimental density of the specimens is lower than the theoretical density, especially for composites with high filler contents, due to the presence of air inclusions. The addition of fillers increases both the melt viscosity and the thermal conductivity.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Francis Bru, Sofie M. P. Vanden Broeck, Gianmarco Pisano, Klaartje De Buysser, Catherine S. J. Cazin
Summary: This article describes the implementation of a laboratory exercise in an undergraduate chemistry course where students compare three different synthetic methods for [Cu(Cl)(IPr)]-complexes. The exercise introduces students to the concepts of continuous improvement in reactions using green chemistry and mechanochemistry as a synthetic methodology. By directly comparing the three methods, students learn about green chemistry metrics and are challenged to question the use of solvents in chemical syntheses.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kim Phan, Sibel Ugduler, Lies Harinck, Ruben Denolf, Martijn Roosen, Galahad O'Rourke, Dirk De Vos, Veronique Van Speybroeck, Karen De Clerck, Steven De Meester
Summary: This study investigates the selective chemical dissolution of elastane from blended textiles using biobased solvents. It was found that tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and ?-valerolactone have comparable elastane dissolution capabilities to classical solvents. The selective solvent-based dissolution process saves 60% CO2-eq./kg textile waste compared to incineration, as shown by the LCA study.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Eli K. C. Moens, Yoshi W. Marien, Alessandro D. Trigilio, Kevin M. Van Geem, Paul H. M. Van Steenberge, Dagmar R. D'hooge
Summary: As interest in recycling plastics grows, it becomes increasingly important to model the thermochemical recycling of vinyl polymers. However, there are fewer studies on the convergence of simulation results in this field compared to polymerization or polymer reaction engineering. Using the coupled matrix-based Monte Carlo (CMMC) framework, it is shown that similar convergence demands can be employed, but with threshold values for average relative error predictions. The effect of initial chain length and number of defects on convergence demands is studied using theoretical feedstocks generated from CMMC polymer synthesis simulations.
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Bianca Swanckaert, Olivier Verschatse, Eva Loccufier, Klaartje De Buysser, Lode Daelemans, Karen De Clerck
Summary: This study reveals that electrospun silica nanofiber membranes have great potential in environmental applications, but their mechanical performance is not well known. Compared to conventional nanofiber membranes, silica nanofiber membranes exhibit a completely different deformation behavior due to their unique chemical and physical properties. Additionally, storing the membranes at room temperature results in significant changes in failure mechanisms, which can be accelerated through thermal treatment. These findings demonstrate the possibility of mechanical tunability in silica nanofiber membranes by adjusting the storage or treatment conditions.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ronald Merckx, Jana Becelaere, Ella Schoolaert, Olmo Frateur, Meike Nicole Leiske, Daniel Peeters, Florica Adriana Jerca, Valentin Victor Jerca, Karen De Clerck, Richard Hoogenboom
Summary: Global food waste leads to the loss of one-third of produced food products, and there is a need for easy-to-use sensor applications to monitor food freshness continuously. This work presents a straightforward approach to create highly porous cross-linked water-stable and reactive hydrophilic nanofiber membranes for food monitoring, using poly(2-isoproprenyl-2-oxazoline) with succinic acid as the cross-linker and acid-functionalized dyes as indicators for biogenic food spoilage.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Olivier Verschatse, Wim Van Paepegem, Karen De Clerck, Lode Daelemans
Summary: Digital image correlation (DIC) combined with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and in-situ mechanical testing has great potential for studying micro-mechanical behavior of materials. A versatile polymer particle-based speckle pattern is presented to cover a wide range of magnifications in SEM. The pattern allows for visibility of deformations in the studied object and high quality SEM-DIC results were obtained. Various micromechanical test cases on polymer materials demonstrated the versatility and effectiveness of the speckling method for visualizing deformation.
Article
Polymer Science
Pablo Reyes, Mariya Edeleva, Dagmar R. R. D'hooge, Ludwig Cardon, Pieter Cornillie
Summary: Corrosion casting using acrylic resins allows the creation of body system replicas, enhancing veterinary medicine knowledge. The use of multicomponent comonomer mixtures expands the range of mechanical properties, achieving a better balance between stiffness and flexibility while ensuring dimensional stability. A new pragmatic protocol for testing and evaluation shows that low-molar-mass crosslinkers should be avoided and an intermediate amount is recommended.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ewout Picavet, Hannes Rijckaert, Eduardo Solano, Oier Bikondoa, Edgar Gutierrez Fernandez, Petriina Paturi, Laura Van Bossele, Henk Vrielinck, Jeroen Beeckman, Klaartje De Buysser
Summary: The integration of ferroelectric thin films on silicon or silicon nitride platforms plays a crucial role in miniaturizing electronic and photonic components. However, the current integration processes are slow, complex, and expensive. To overcome this, a high-throughput method using an ultrathin La2O2CO3 template film to integrate fiber textured ferroelectric thin films has been investigated. The results show that the La2O2CO3 thin film enables the integration of highly textured ferroelectric thin films on Si or SiN-based platforms, offering potential for large-scale miniaturization of photonic or electronic devices.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)