Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tugba Demir Caliskan, Kubra Ozkan Hukum, Tuncer Caykara, Igor Luzinov
Summary: This study presents a straightforward approach to fabricating nanocoatings based on perfluoropolyether (PFPE), which can significantly reduce the spreading of oil and water on coated surfaces. By depositing an anchoring layer and grafting layer on the silicon surface, the surface energy and wettability are effectively decreased, leading to lower oil and water spreading.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Moein Farahnak, Takanori Sato, Yuya Otani, Koichiro Kuraji, Toko Suzaki
Summary: This study compares the water repellency (WR) of biomat and soil horizons in thinned and non-thinned Chamaecyparis obtusa plantations. The results showed that thinned areas lacked a biomat horizon, whereas non-thinned areas had a 3 cm depth of biomat with higher WR than thinned soil. There was no relationship between WR and water content or surface temperature in either thinned or non-thinned plots.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Liang Chen, Taotao Qiang, Wenqi Ren, Qin Tian, Xiancheng Zhang, Hui Jie Zhang
Summary: With the increasing demand for express, serious environmental issues have been caused by the excessive waste express packaging plastic films. In this study, we report a facile approach to fabricate recyclable gelatin-based bioplastic film as an express packaging film substitute with considerable mechanical strength and water repel-lency.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Feibo Li, Zhaoshuo Wang, Ping Li, Yanming Wang, Zhixiao Zhang, Xiying Fu, Zongqi Li, Junxian Hou, Huanjun Li
Summary: We designed and fabricated complex-chamber-structure hydrogel actuators based on soft interfacial adhesion of aluminum hydroxide nanocomposite hydrogels. These actuators possessed high tensile and compressive strength, superior sealability and self-recoverability, and could achieve rapid uniaxial expansion and multidirectional large-scale bending under fluid actuation, making them suitable for multi-task scenarios.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Fernando Zvietcovich, Manmohan Singh, Yogeshwari S. Ambekar, Salavat R. Aglyamov, Michael D. Twa, Kirill Larin
Summary: This study proposes the use of spatial deformation spreading (SDS) produced by air-pulse stimulation for optical coherence elastography (OCE) of transverse isotropic tissues. Experimental results show an approximately linear relationship between shear wave speed and SDS in isotropic phantoms, and good agreement between SDS and surface wave speed in anisotropic tissues such as chicken muscle. This demonstrates the capability of the SDS technique in measuring the shear elastic anisotropy of transverse isotropic tissues.
IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Annalisa Apicella, Lucia D'Arienzo, Sara Caridi, Arianna Pietrosanto, Paola Scarfato
Summary: This study developed and tested innovative, sustainable, multifunctional surface treatments for tuff protection. The best formulation showed improved water repellency and aggregative effectiveness without changing color. All surface treatments displayed promising antimicrobial activity.
CASE STUDIES IN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mateusz Kowalski, Renata Salerno-Kochan, Irena Kaminska, Malgorzata Cieslak
Summary: This research aimed to evaluate the changes in surface properties of functional clothing materials with water-repellent finishes after washing. The results showed significant changes in the properties, depending on the material composition, structure, and type of finish. The PFC-free finish was found to be the least resistant to washing, and increasing washing frequency led to a gradual decrease in water repellency.
Article
Mechanics
Xiaozhi Huo, Long Li, Yang Yang, Xuefeng Liu, Qiang Yu, Qinggong Wang
Summary: Directional fluid transport by electrowetting is studied in this research. A numerical model based on the phase field method is established to investigate the process of a sensible droplet transported directionally in an electrowetting channel. The results show that the droplet motion can be divided into three stages, and at a certain voltage, the droplet can be transported at a velocity of 17 mm/s. Various influencing factors are considered, including voltage, droplet size, friction factor, pinning force, channel height, gravity level, and tilted angle of the channel. The contact line friction and pinning force retard the droplet motion, and an increase in gravity level reduces the transport velocity of large droplets, while small droplets display good anti-gravity capability even under a 90° tilted channel.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Mohamed Bayad, Henry Wai Chau, Stephen Trolove, Jim Moir, Leo Condron, Mohamed El Gharous
Summary: The study measured surface runoff and phosphorus concentrations on hydrophobic and wettable soils, confirming the impact of SWR on surface runoff and P mobility. It suggests that SWR may contribute to non-incidental phosphorus losses.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tao Liu
Summary: A novel facile chemical vapor deposition method is developed to prepare a water-repellent, recyclable and self-cleaning large granular expanded perlite. The method involves in situ growing polysiloxane nanofilaments to simultaneously increase surface roughness and reduce surface energy, imparting water repellency and good sorption capacity to the prepared expanded perlite.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kelly Cristina Tonello, Sergio Dias Campos, Aparecido Junior de Menezes, Julieta Bramorski, Samir Leite Mathias, Marcelle Teodoro Lima
Summary: This study investigated the impact of bark water absorbability and wettability on stemflow yield, revealing a significant correlation between bark characteristics and stemflow generation. The classification of bark wettability proved to be an important factor in understanding stemflow dynamics and ecohydrology processes in forest ecosystems.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
J. Justin Koh, Pengfei Pang, Souvik Chakraborty, Junhua Kong, Anqi Sng, Patsaya Anukunwithaya, Shujuan Huang, Xue Qi Koh, Calvin Thenarianto, Warintorn Thitsartan, Dan Daniel, Chaobin He
Summary: This article investigates the oil-repellency of highly amorphous cellulose through experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the stable surface hydration is due to a combination of long-range electrostatic repulsions and short-range interfacial hydrogen bonding. The presence of a stable water layer effectively separates the cellulose surface from oil droplets, resulting in extremely low adhesion between them.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Wilhelm Barthlott, Burkhard Buedel, Matthias Mail, Klaus Michael Neumann, Dorothea Bartels, Eberhard Fischer
Summary: Plants and other organisms have developed the ability to colonize land, with superhydrophobicity being a crucial innovation for the transition from water to land. Superhydrophobic surfaces enhance gas exchange and exclude aquatic competitors, playing an important role in the survival of organisms in terrestrial environments. Superhydrophobicity has also found applications in material science and surface technology.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
Jia Luo, Fuqiang Chu, Jun Zhang, Dongsheng Wen
Summary: In this study, the dynamic characteristics of droplet impact on superhydrophobic surfaces were investigated, and a unique re-spreading behavior during the retraction stage at lower Weber numbers was revealed. A critical Weber number of 4.9 was identified as the trigger for re-spreading. By analyzing the impact force, it was found that the re-spreading phenomenon results from the competition between inward motion driven by inertia and outward expansion caused by capillary oscillations at the contact line, which only occurs at low Weber numbers. This study provides insights into the dynamic characteristics of droplet impact on superhydrophobic surfaces at low Weber numbers and has significant implications for applications such as trickle bed reactors and defrosting/deicing.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yang Liu, Hui Zhang, Yijun Zhu, Jiawei Chen, Pu Wang, Songjie Dai, Xing Li, Guangneng Dong
Summary: Inspired by the jaws of tiny insects, researchers have developed a surface with novel jaw-like microstructures as micro one-way valves, enabling self-driven unidirectional spreading of liquid. These microstructures, which are almost two-dimensional, are simple and easy to fabricate. Surfaces with such micro one-way valves exhibit remarkable rapid and long-distance water droplet spreading behaviors, with a maximum forward-backward distance ratio of about 14.5, nearly double that of previous research. The capillary attraction at the location of the jaws and the pinning effect brought by the sharp edge of the jaws are identified as the main mechanisms.
