Control of the chemical and physical behaviour of silicon surfaces for enhancing the transition from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic surfaces

Advances in Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Surfaces Made from Silicones: Fabrication and Application

As research on superhydrophobic materials inspired by the self-cleaning and water-repellent properties of plants and animals in nature continues, the superhydrophobic preparation methods and the applications of superhydrophobic surfaces are widely reported. Silicones are preferred for the preparation of superhydrophobic materials because of their inherent hydrophobicity and strong processing ability. In the preparation of superhydrophobic materials, silicones can both form micro-/nano-structures with dehydration condensation and reduce the surface energy of the material surface because of their intrinsic hydrophobicity. The superhydrophobic layers of silicone substrates are characterized by simple and fast reactions, high-temperature resistance, UV resistance, and anti-aging. Although silicone superhydrophobic materials have the disadvantages of relatively low mechanical stability, this can be improved by the rational design of the material structure. Herein, we summarize the superhydrophobic surfaces made from silicone substrates, including the cross-linking processes of silicones through dehydration condensation and hydrosilation, and the surface hydrophobic modification by grafting hydrophobic silicones. The applications of silicone-based superhydrophobic surfaces have been introduced such as self-cleaning, corrosion resistance, oil-water separation, etc. This review article should provide an overview to the bioinspired superhydrophobic surfaces of silicone-based materials, and serve as inspiration for the development of polymer interfaces and colloid science.

Recent Advances in Nano-Bio-Sensing Fabrication Technology for the Detection of Oral Cancer

Nanotechnology-based miniaturized devices have been a breakthrough in the pre-clinical and clinical research areas, e.g. drug delivery, personalized medicine. They have revolutionized the discovery and development of biomarker-based diagnostic devices for detection of various diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and cancer. Nanomaterials (NMs) hold tremendous diagnostic potential due to their high surface-to-volume ratio and quantum confinement phenomenon, improving the detection limit of clinically relevant biomolecules in bio-fluids. Thus, they are helpful in the translation of bench-on platform to point-of-care (POC) screening device. The nanomaterial-based biosensor fabrication technology has also simplified and improved oral cancer (OC) or oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) diagnosis. The fabrication of nano-bio sensors involves application specific modifications of NMs. The unique properties functionalized NMs have augmented their application on the nano-biosensing platform for the detection of clinically relevant biomolecules in bio-fluids. Therefore, this article summarizes the recent advancements in the process of fabrication of nano-biosensors for detection of OC.

Effect of surface modification on electrochemical performance of nano-sized Si as an anode material for Li-ion batteries

Silicon is one of the most promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.