Excellent Self-cleaning Performance Research Articles

A multi-scale hierarchically omnidirectional strategy to elevate crossband camouflage and anti-icing properties

The relentless evolution and enhancement of contemporary detection technologies have underscored the necessity for multi-band compatible camouflage, encompassing both visual and infrared spectra. This study successfully developed a composite coating with the low gloss and superior infrared camouflage capabilities without affected by external heat sources. The composite layered coating, which consists of a low infrared emissivity layer and a top layer with a multi-scale micro-nano structure, exhibits high infrared camouflage performance (ε = 0.297, 8–14 μm) and forms an infrared camouflage coating based on Lambert surfaces. The gloss of the composite coating decreased from 74.1 of the conventional metal-based resin coating to 2.3, the water contact angle could reach 162.97°, the sliding angle was only 2.2°, and a delayed icing time of 795.16 s was achieved at −20 °C. This study provides a feasible strategy for designing low-gloss infrared camouflage coatings with excellent self-cleaning performance and delayed icing performance. This work also presents a feasible approach for solving infrared camouflage in harsh environments, and opens up a feasible prospect for developing multi-functional infrared camouflage.

A durable self-cleaning superhydrophobic coating fabricated using the preset grid-spraying method

Herein, a new durable superhydrophobic coating was prepared using the preset grid-spraying method which was low cost and simple. To achieve the regular continuous grid structure which had protection and support function to the coatings, the sieve mesh was preset on the substrate with hot pressing process. After spraying the superhydrophobic coating on the substrate of the preset mesh followed by curing, a superhydrophobic coating was obtained. The surface morphology of the superhydrophobic coating prepared using the preset grid-spraying method was primarily composed of the regular grid structure and island-like structure with the micro-nano scale rough structure on them. Compared with the superhydrophobic coating prepared with the traditional spraying method, the mechanical stability of the superhydrophobic coating, which was prepared using the preset grid-spraying method, was considerably higher along with good hydrophobic properties. The superhydrophobic coating demonstrated superhydrophobic properties after 170 cycles of the sandpaper abrasion test, which was about 300% higher than the traditional superhydrophobic coating. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic coating prepared using the preset grid-spraying method had excellent self-cleaning performance and weather resistance. Self-cleaning efficiencies of this superhydrophobic coatings on kaolin and sand were 99.2% and 98.9%, respectively. Even after 170 cycles of the sandpaper abrasion test, the self-cleaning efficiency of superhydrophobic coatings on kaolin and sand remained over 85% and 90%, respectively. The coated surface still showed superhydrophobic properties after 30 days of the outdoor placement experiment. Showing excellent comprehensive properties and low cost, the superhydrophobic coating prepared using the preset grid-spraying method had a board application prospect.

Smart Green Cotton Textiles with Hierarchically Responsive Conductive Network for Personal Healthcare and Thermal Management.

Whereas cotton as an abundant natural cellulose has been widely used for sustainable and skin-friendly textiles and clothes, developing cotton fabrics with smart functions that could respond to various stimuli is still eagerly desired while remaining a great challenge. Herein, smart multiresponsive cotton fabric with hierarchically copper nanowire interwoven MXene conductive networks that are seamlessly assembled along a 3D woven fabric template for efficient personal healthcare and thermal comfort regulation is successfully developed. The robust hierarchically interwoven conductive network was "glued" and protected by organic conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) along a 3D interconnected fabric template to enhance interfacial adherent and environmental stability. Benefiting from the robust multiresponsive hierarchically interwoven conductive network, smart cotton fabric exhibits real-time response to various external stimuli (light/electrical/heat/temperature/stress), and the details of human activities can be accurately recognized and monitored. Furthermore, the porous structure of 3D smart fabric induced strong capillary force and confinement to phase change materials PEG, which exhibits a wide range of phase transition temperatures for efficient thermal comfort regulation. After further encapsulation with transparent fluorosilicone resin, the smart cotton fabric exhibits excellent self-cleaning performance with water/oil repellent. The smart multiresponsive cotton fabrics hold great promise in next-generation wearable systems for efficient personal healthcare and thermal management.

Maintaining solar cell efficiency realized by high-transparency dual-function SiO2 coating with self-cleaning and dust removal

Addressing the issue of dust deposition on photovoltaic (PV) panels is of profound scientific significance and practical value for enhancing PV power generation. Transparent superhydrophobic coating is expected to be applied in the self-cleaning of PV panels. However, developing the transparent superhydrophobic dust removal coatings remains a challenge. Herein, we developed a highly transparent F-SiO2 coating with dual self-cleaning and dust removal functions, composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and SiO2. The coating demonstrates a high transmittance of 97 %. After self-cleaning and dust removal tests, conversion efficiency of F-SiO2 coated PV decreased by only 0.03 % and 0.01 %, respectively, demonstrating excellent self-cleaning and dust removal performance. Additionally, the F-SiO2 exhibits high stability. Mechanism analysis of dust removal performance reveals that the decreased effective dielectric constant from the porous structure and the reduced actual contact area between the particles and the superhydrophobic surface, thereby effectively reduces the van der Waals force between dust and coating. This work provides a novel strategy to prepare self-cleaning and dust removal coatings on PV cover plate.

Radiative cooling materials prepared by SiO2 aerogel microspheres@PVDF-HFP nanofilm for building cooling and thermal insulation

Radiative cooling is promising in meeting the current global demand for green sustainable development. However, the effective cooling of the existing radiant cooler will be limited due to the serious solar energy absorption and poor thermal insulation performance on the cold side. To addresss these issues, we propose herein a novel composite material of silicon dioxide (SiO2) aerogel microspheres combined with polyvinylidene fluoride-cohexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) nanofiber membrane, in which SiO2 aerogel microspheres are firstly synthesized by sol-gel method and then incorporated into PVDF-HFP nanofiber membrane to give radiative cooling performance. As we expected, the molecular vibration characteristics of PVDF-HFP nanofiber membrane and the phonon polarization resonance of Si-O-Si bond in the transparent window can enhance the infrared emissivity of the membrane surface. In addition, the high porosity and the mesoporous structure formed by the interconnection of nano-network skeletons of SiO2 aerogel microspheres determine its excellent thermal insulation performance. The as-prepared material displays that the average solar reflectance of the composite membrane is 96.07 % and the average infrared emissivity of the atmospheric window is 94.95 %. Notably, when the average solar radiation intensity is 885.56 W•m−2, the passive radiative cooling temperature during the day can reach 11.2 °C. Furthermore, this material has excellent self-cleaning and thermal insulation performance, making it a potential radiant cooling candidate in many fields.

Nano-silica modified with silane and fluorinated chemicals to prepare a superhydrophobic coating for enhancing self-cleaning performance.

Superhydrophobic coatings with excellent self-cleaning performance have attracted significant concerns from researchers. Although various superhydrophobic coatings with prominent superhydrophobic properties have been fabricated, most developed coatings are still inadequate in pipeline scale inhibition applications. In this work, nano-silica (nano-SiO2) was modified by silane coupling of vinyltriethoxysilane (VETS) and 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFTS) to prepare a superhydrophobic coating. Organosilicon of PFTS and VETS was grafted onto the surface of SiO2 for preparing the superhydrophobic coating with low surface energy, and the superhydrophobic coating was cured via poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The results showed that the contact angle of the prepared silica-based superhydrophobic coating, denoted as VETS-PFTS@SiO2/PVDF, is 159.2°, exhibiting outstanding superhydrophobicity performance. Furthermore, the superhydrophobicity coating also showed satisfactory durability performance in 200 g load wear test after 50 cycles. Importantly, the superhydrophobic coating displayed promising mechanical durability, chemical stability performance, as well as maintained excellent superhydrophobic properties after being placed in water for 3 weeks, indicating the potential for long-term utilization. In the simulated scale inhibition test, it was found that the synthesized coating can also significantly decrease the deposition rate of CaCO3 and successfully enhance its scale inhibition performance.

Liquid gated membrane with self-cleaning properties for controllable removal and multi-component separation of organic/bacterial contaminants

Membrane technology plays an important role in sustainable water treatment; however, the non-adjustable pores make it difficult to achieve precise molecular separation, and membrane fouling remains a challenge in membrane processes. Herein, a smart liquid gated membrane (LGM) was prepared by filling different lubricants in the micropores of PET track-etched membrane that was pre-treated with nano roughening and fluorination. When the pressure exceeds a critical breakthrough pressure, the liquid lined pores are formed, and higher gating liquid/water interfacial tension requires higher pressure to break through the gate. The effective pore size of LGM increases with increasing pressure. When the pressure is removed, the liquid refilling that leads to pore-closing is promoted by lower lubricant viscosity and larger effective pore size. Through the tunable permeability, controllable removal and multi-component separation of organic/bacterial contaminants can be achieved. The maximum rejection for protein approaches 94 %; as the pressure increases, three components are separated in the order of pectin, soy protein isolate and Staphylococcus aureus with maximum separation coefficient of 56.7. Due to the stable lubricant lining, LGM shows excellent self-cleaning performance with much higher flux recovery rate than the non-lubricated membranes. This liquid gated membrane has great application prospects in size-fractionated separation and product recovery.

In-situ preparation of titanic-based superhydrophilic self-cleaning glaze via a simple one-time firing route

The cleaning of traditional ceramics consumes much water and detergents. It is valuable to consider how to endow the ceramics with self-cleaning character. In this paper, titanic-based-crystallites (CaTi(SiO5) or TiO2) superhydrophilic glazes with superior self-cleaning properties were in situ prepared by a simple one-time firing method. There is no any extra treatment involved in the preparation process. It was found that the precipitation of titanic-based crystallites in the glaze could be adjusted by controlling the cooling system. The transformation mechanism of the phase was analyzed based on the phase separation state. Stress conditions of a dirt cell on surfaces with different roughness were discussed. The correlation between geometric structure and self-cleaning performance demonstrated that the multi-level structure is vital for self-cleaning performance. The self-cleaning mechanism of the superhydrophilic glaze was proposed. The titanic-based crystallite glazes possess superhydrophilic characteristics (<8.0 °), high hardness (642.44–707.85 kgf·mm−2), and excellent self-cleaning performance to oily ink stamps and relatively good performance to human fecal simulacrum, the miso sauce, due to the multi-level structure with nano-scale surface roughness, showing a good application potential on the self-cleaning domain, i.e. glass and traditional ceramic, etc.

A self-cleaning photocatalytic membrane loaded with Bi2O2CO3/In(OH)3 S-scheme heterojunction composites for removing tetracycline from aqueous solutions

Bi2O2CO3/In(OH)3 (BON) photocatalysts were synthesized by a one-pot method and loaded onto polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes to obtain a Bi2O2CO3/In(OH)3/PVDF (BON-M) catalytic membrane system. The catalytic membranes demonstrated complete degradation of tetracycline within 40 min under visible light. They demonstrated robust photocatalytic activity across a broad pH range (5–11) and in the presence of coexisting ions. The membranes demonstrated excellent self-cleaning performance. Following exposure to light, the irreversible contamination decreased from 27.1% to 4.7% and the membrane’s permeability was almost completely restored. Moreover, the charge transfer mechanism at the S-scheme heterojunction interface of BON was demonstrated by Density functional theory and in-situ X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy characterisation, and the active sites involved in tetracycline’s degradation were identified. Meanwhile, the mechanism of the “anemone effect” of BON-M was demonstrated in conjunction with Electron paramagnetic resonance, and the intrinsic Some factors enhancing the membranes’ photocatalytic activity are specified.

Dual-functional TiO2/Ag/NF SERS substrate with 3D channel structures for organic pollutant trace detection and degradation

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates are essential to realizing the SERS effect. Meanwhile, these substrates often get contaminated after testing and cannot be reused. Herein, the nickel foam (NF) skeleton was modified with TiO2 and Ag to synthesize TiO2/Ag/NF three-dimensional (3D) SERS substrates via dip-assisted spin coating combined with a silver mirror reaction. The substrates exhibited the outstanding SERS activity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10−8 M for rhodamine 6G (R6G) and crystal violet (CV), as well as the enhancement factor are 1.18 × 106 and 1.39 × 106, respectively. Besides that, the signal attenuation was only about 19 % after 30 days of exposure to the natural environment. Moreover, the adsorbed dyes (10−4 M) were successfully degraded under ultraviolet light irradiation for 180 min, and about 70 % of the signal was still retained after three degradation cycles, which demonstrated excellent self-cleaning performance. Additionally, the substrates also showed good sensitivity and degradation ability for CV in river water, at a LOD of 10−7 M. The degradation time of CV (10−4 M) was 210 min, and the high SERS activity was still retained after three cycles. Thus, the proposed 3D TiO2/Ag/NF dual-functional SERS substrates have great potential for rapid monitoring and degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater.

Preparation and performance study of environmentally friendly and durable kaolin/PDMS/cotton fabrics superhydrophobic surface

In this research work, a fluorine-free, durable, and excellent self-cleaning and oil-water separation performance kaolin/polydimethylsiloxane/cotton fabrics (Kaolin/PDMS/cotton) superhydrophobic surface was successfully prepared. The morphology, wettability, and phase composition of the coating were characterized and tested using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic contact angle measuring instrument, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results showed that the organic composite of hydrophobic modified kaolin particles and cotton fabrics was successfully achieved through the bridging effect of PDMS. A dense superhydrophobic micro-nano structure coating was constructed on the surface of cotton fibers, and the tested performance was excellent. Has good local anti-pollution performance for common coffee, Coca-Cola, dyeing water, and simulated dust; After being worn for a distance of 1200 centimeters under a load of 10KPa, the contact angle with water remained above 150°, indicating excellent durability of the coating; In addition, kaolin/PDMS/cotton also exhibited good oil/water separation performance. After 15 cycles of oil-water separation tests, the separation efficiency for gasoline and dichloromethane both exceeded 96%.

Regenerated SERS substrate based on Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-oxidized carbon cloth for detection of imidacloprid

Imidacloprid (IMI) are widely used in modern tea industry for pest control, but IMI residues pose a great threat to human health. Herein, we propose a regeneration metal-semiconductor SERS substrate for IMI detection. We fabricated the SERS sensor through the in-situ growth of a nano-heterostructure incorporating a semiconductor (TiO2) and plasmonic metals (Au, Ag) on oxidized carbon cloth (OCC). Leveraging the high-density hot spots, the formed Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC substrate exhibits higher enhancement factors (1.92 × 108) and uniformity (RSD = 7.68%). As for the detection of IMI on the substrate, the limit of detection was lowered to 4.1 × 10−6 μg/mL. With a hydrophobic structure, the Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC possessed excellent self-cleaning performance addressing the limitation of single-use associated with traditional SERS substrates, as well as the degradation capability of the substrate under ultraviolet (UV) light. Accordingly, Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC showcases outstanding SERS sensing and regenerating properties, making it poised for extensive application in the field of food safety assurance.

Superhydrophobic cotton fabric based on aqueous paint for passive daytime radiative cooling

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) is a technology that dissipates excess heat to outer space without any energy consumption. Numerous PDRC materials have been developed recently. However, hazardous organic solvents are often used in the fabrication process of these PDRC materials, and most PDRC materials are easily contaminated. In this study, a new scalable eco-friendly aqueous paint without volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was developed by combining fluoroacrylate copolymer with high-scattering polysilsesquioxane particles. The solar reflectivity and emissivity of the cotton fabric coated with the aqueous paint (PDRC@CF) are significantly enhanced (reach 92.2 % and 92.7 %, respectively) due to the synergistic effect of fluoroacrylate copolymer and polysilsesquioxane. The PDRC@CF has a remarkable radiative cooling effect with a surface temperature 5.7 °C lower than the ambient air and 16.1 °C lower than the pristine cotton fabric under direct sunlight exposure. Moreover, the aqueous paint endows the PDRC@CF with a washable superhydrophobic surface, whose water contact angle is 150.1°and sliding angle is 2.3°, possessing excellent self-cleaning performance. The PDRC@CF effectively combining the properties of anti-fouling and radiative cooling, can be applied to outdoor product protection and other energy-efficient cooling fields.

Transparent, superhydrophobic, and flexible polyimide films with robust and durable imide/silica particles surface prepared via a sintering process

Recently, transparent superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted great interest due to their potential applications in various fields, such as skyscrapers, windows, glass doors, displays, and solar panels. However, flexible films with superhydrophobicity and transparency still face challenges in practical applications due to their lack of durability of the properties. Here, we report transparent, superhydrophobic, and flexible polyimide films with robust oligoimide/silica protrusion surface prepared by a simple sintering process, aiming to address the above issues. A transparent polyimide film (PIF) and nano-silica particles modified with an oligoimide (NSOI) were separately prepared, and the sintering between PIF and NSOI were performed to obtain PINSOI samples. Among PINSOIs, the optimal PINSOI-3 sample exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity, optical transmittance and tensile strength. After folding/torsion, sandpaper abrasion, tape peeling and acidic/basic immersion tests, its superhydrophobicity was maintained, indicating excellent mechanical and chemical durability of superhydrophobicity even under harsh conditions. Also, after a standard accelerated weathering test, its superhydrophobicity, transmittance and tensile strength were almost completely maintained, indicating the excellent weathering durability of PINSOI-3. These durability properties of PINSOI-3 could be attributed to that the sintering resulted in strong fusion between the NSOI particles and PIF by chain entanglement. PINSOI-3 showed excellent self-cleaning performance, and it can be applied as a self-cleaning film for flexible or curved solar cells and displays.

Antibacterial Hydrophilic ZnO Microstructure Film with Underwater Oleophobic and Self-Cleaning Antifouling Properties.

Super-hydrophilic and oleophobic functional materials can prevent pollution or adsorption by repelling oil, and have good circulation. However, traditional strategies for preparing these functional materials either use expensive fabrication machines or contain possibly toxic organic polymers, which may prohibit the practical application. The research of multifunctional ZnO microstructures or nanoarrays thin films with super-hydrophilic, antifouling, and antibacterial properties has not been reported yet. Moreover, the exploration of underwater oleophobic and self-cleaning antifouling properties in ZnO micro/nanostructures is still in its infancy. Here, we prepared ZnO microstructured films on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates (F-ZMF) for the development of advanced self-cleaning type super-hydrophilic and oleophobic materials. With the increase of the accelerators, the average size of the F-ZMF microstructures decreased. The F-ZMF shows excellent self-cleaning performance and hydrophilic (water contact angle ≤ 10°) and oleophobic characteristics in the underwater antifouling experiment. Under a dark condition, F-ZMF-4 showed good antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) with inhibition rates of 99.1% and 99.9%, respectively. This study broadens the application scope of ZnO-based material and provides a novel prospect for the development of self-cleaning super-hydrophilic and oleophobic materials.

Fabrication of highly conductive, flexible, and hydrophobic Kevlar®@Ni-P-B@Cu@CS fabric with excellent self-cleaning performance for electromagnetic interference shielding.

In this work, a simple and cost-effective method was proposed and developed to prepare a novel multilayer-structured Kevlar®@nickel-phosphorus-boron@copper@copper stearate (Kevlar®@Ni-P-B@Cu@CS) composite fabric with high conductivity, high flexibility, high hydrophobicity, and high durability to effectively shield electromagnetic interference (EMI). In this method, an amorphous Ni-P-B alloy nanolayer was initially deposited onto a Kevlar® fabric via electroless plating. Afterward, a crystalline Cu nanolayer was deposited as the second layer via electroplating. Finally, a monolayer of copper stearate was innovatively self-assembled as the outermost protective layer. The Cu deposition was effectively adjusted and designed by controlling the plating current and plating time. The electrical resistance and contact angle of the optimized Kevlar®@Ni-P-B@Cu@CS composite fabric were as low as 3.2 mΩ sq-1 and as high as 115.39°, respectively, indicating that the fabric could withstand bending, tape-off, corrosion, and accelerated environmental tests. The average EMI-shielding efficiency of the durable composite fabric was 93.9 dB in the frequency range of 8.2-12.4 GHz, which was mainly attributed to the absorption loss. Thus, the proposed material configuration has promise for applications in aviation, aerospace, telecommunication, wearable devices, and military industries.

Facile preparation of durable superhydrophobic coating with microstructure self-repairing function by spraying method

Self-healing superhydrophobic coatings have attracted tremendous attention recently, although their practical applications are severely limited by hydrophobic instability and poor structure durability. In this study, a durable superhydrophobic coating was fabricated by a rapid micro/nano structural reconstruction strategy. Carbon nanofibers (CNF) with high aspect ratio were interspersed in fluorosilicone resin (FSR) to construct a uniform network structure. By combining with temperature-responsive carnauba wax (CW) and modified fluororubber (MFR), we obtained a superhydrophobic FSR/CNF/CW/MFR coating with a water contact angle (WCA) of 157 ± 1.2° and water sliding angle (WSA) of 4.5 ± 0.4°. Under the triple synergy of polymer segment migration of FSR, temperature-responsive phase transition of CW, and elastomer rebound repair of MFR, the damaged FSR/CNF/CW/MFR coating surface was rapidly reformed to a new hierarchical micro/nanostructure with short heat treatment (less than 120 s). As a result, for a flat surface, after 1000 abrasion cycles or falling ball impact, a rich micro/nano structure was rapidly reconstructed and superhydrophobic properties were restored. The reconstructed micro/nano multistage structure could effectively capture air, which led to the repaired area exhibiting a charming silver mirror effect and excellent self-cleaning performance. Therefore, this work is expected to provide new insight into the restoration of micro/nanostructures of durable superhydrophobic coatings.

Construction of interconnected nanostructures via linear chains silica for antireflective coatings in solar cell

Solar cells play a pivotal role in increasing the application of solar energy, offering an innovative solution to address the energy crisis. However, the loss of light transmittance through solar cell glass results in the decrease of power conversion efficiency. Base-catalyzed silica antireflection coating can effectively improve light transmittance due to its porous structure, but mechanical fragility limits their applications. To enhance the strength of these coatings, herein we employed two strategies, in-situ and ex-situ catalysis, introducing the acid-catalyzed silica chains to bind the silica nanoparticles and form an interconnected nanostructure. Different combination modes of in/ex-situ silica generate two distinct nanostructures, including nanoparticles tightly connected by short chains or wrapped by long chains. Compared to the ex-situ catalyzed coatings, the in-situ catalyzed coatings have greater porosity, reactivity and mechanical property. When the silica linear chain accounts for 30 %, in-situ catalyzed coatings show an average transmission of more than 96.4 %, representing a 6.5 % improvement over glass plate, and the pencil hardness reaches 3H, meeting the requirements of industrial applications. After the hydrophobic treatment, the water contact angle exceeds 130°, exhibiting excellent self-cleaning performance. It is believed that the facile and scalable in-situ catalyzed AR coatings have great application potential.

Bioinspired Flexible Wearable Sensor with High Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Performance for Human Motion Sensing.

Flexible wearable strain sensors have shown great potential in monitoring human motion, due to their ability to flexibly fit to multiple surfaces, which can realize the monitoring of human motions and external stimulation. However, the utilization of the sensor in extreme conditions such as low or high temperatures still poses a risk of signal output distortion. Moreover, the continuous usage of the sensor may result in extensive bacterial growth at the interface between the sensor and the skin, posing a threat to human health. Herein, a hydrophobic flexible antibacterial strain sensor (CGP) based on carbon black-PDMS was prepared, inspired by the superhydrophobic surface of a lotus leaf. The CGP sensor demonstrates exceptional sensitivity, with a gauge factor (GF) of 0.467 in the strain range of 0-15% and a fast response time (65.4 ms, 5% strain). Additionally, it exhibits a high conductivity of 1.2 mS cm-1 at -20 °C and 2.0 mS cm-1 at 100 °C, indicating its ability to function effectively even in extreme temperatures. The static water contact angle of CGP measures 121.7°, and self-cleaning experiments have confirmed its excellent self-cleaning performance. Furthermore, the CGP displays distinct response characteristics to movements of human fingers, wrists, and knees, making it an ideal choice for monitoring various joints in the human body. In terms of antibacterial properties, CGP has demonstrated an antibacterial rate of over 99% against E. coli and S. aureus. Possessing high sensitivity, superior electrical conductivity in harsh environments, and super antibacterial capabilities, CGP holds significant potential for applications in human motion monitoring and other fields.

UV-assisted stabilization of superhydrophobic nanofibrous membranes for waterproof, breathable and thermal insulation applications

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/polyurethane (PU)/hydrophobic silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanofibrous membranes were prepared by electrospinning combined with a UV-induced stabilization method. The PAN/PU/SiO2 membranes possessed excellent self-cleaning performance because the introduction of SiO2 nanoparticles endowed the nanofibrous membranes with high surface roughness and good hydrophobicity. In addition, SiO2 nanoparticles could also promote the waterproof performance of nanofibrous membranes because hydrophobicity improved and pore size decreased with the increase of SiO2 content. Water vapor transmission rate of the membranes decreased from 10.8 to 9.2 kg m−2 d−1 with increasing of SiO2 concentration because SiO2 nanoparticles could fill the spaces among the adjacent nanofibers. Reflectance to sunlight of the PAN/PU/SiO2 membrane was much higher than that of the PAN/PU membrane, indicating an obvious radiative cooling effect due to loading of SiO2 nanoparticles. This facile fabrication of fluorine-free superhydrophobic membranes provides advantages for potential applications in self-cleaning materials and versatile protective clothing.