Inspired by the Nature: A Post-Printed Strategy to Efficiently Elaborate Parahydrophobic Surfaces

The lack of drinkable water is one of the most significant risks for the future of the humanity. Estimates show that in the near future, this risk will become the origin of massive migrations leading to humanitarian disaster. As consequence, the development of solutions to provide water is becoming ever more critical, and a significant effort is devoted to identifying new sources of water. Among the developed strategies, fog harvesting, which takes advantage of atmospheric water to provide potable water, is a solution of interest due to its potential in sustainable development. Unfortunately, this approach suffers from low yield. In the present work, we take inspiration from living species to design and elaborate surfaces with high potential for water harvesting applications. This work takes advantage of 3D-printing and post-printing functionalization to elaborate a strategy that allows modelling, printing, and functionalization of surfaces to yield parahydrophobic behavior. The roughness and surface morphology of the prepared surfaces were investigated. These characteristics were then related to the observed wettability and potential of the functionalized interfaces for water harvesting applications. This work highlights significant variations in surface wettability via surface modification; strong hydrophobic behavior was observed via modification with linear carboxylic acids particularly for surfaces bearing vertical blades (plate with vertical blades and grid with vertical blades).

Synthesis, characterization and aging tests of functional rigid polymeric biocomposites with kraft lignin

This study concerns the synthesis of biocomposites with kraft lignin, investigation of their physicochemical properties, and tests of their resistance to environmental factors such as UV irradiation and water. The biocomposites were synthesized using bisphenol A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) diacrylate (BPA.DA) as a main monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a reactive diluent, and kraft lignin (L) as an environmentally friendly filler, in a UV curing process. Morphological analysis of the resulting materials was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Thermal properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. Tensile and flexural tests were performed for all obtained materials. Additionally, the wettability and swelling of the obtained composite samples were analyzed. The changes observed in the structure and properties of the polymers as a result of aging were investigated by means of ATR-FTIR analysis, optical profilometry and hardness tests. The results obtained regarding the effect of lignin addition on the properties of composite materials, with particular emphasis on their resistance to environmental factors, may be of crucial importance for their further applications, inter alia as UV-curable coating materials.

Synthetic strategies for raspberry-like polymer composite particles

The strategies used for the preparation of raspberry-like polymer composite particles are summarized comprehensively.

Biodegradable Polymer Microparticles with Tunable Shapes and Surface Textures for Enhancement of Dendritic Cell Maturation

In this report, we present a facile approach to produce biodegradable polymeric microparticles with uniform sizes and controllable morphologies by blending hydrophobic poly(d, l-lactic-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and amphiphilic poly(d, l-lactic acid)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-b-PEG) in a microfluidic chip. Microparticles with tentacular, hollow hemispherical, and Janus structures were obtained after complete evaporation of the organic solvent by manipulating the interfacial behavior of emulsion droplets and the phase separation behavior inside the droplets. The number and length of the tentacles on the surface of tentacular microparticles could be tailored by varying the initial concentration and blending ratios of the polymers. The organic solvent played an important role in controlling the morphologies of microparticles. For example, blending PLA_16k-b-PEG_5k with PLGA_100k in dichloromethane resulted in tentacular microparticles, whereas hollow hemispherical microparticles were obtained in trichloromethane. Moreover, these microparticles with controllable shapes and surface textures have significant influence on the immune response of dendritic cells (DCs), showing a morphology-dependent enhancement of DC maturation.

Superhydrophobic and superoleophobic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) polymers synthesized using the Staudinger-Vilarrasa reaction

Vegetal and animal reigns offer many examples of surfaces with surprising and interesting wetting properties. As example, springtails present superoleophobic properties allowing to live in soil and Lotus leaves show self-cleaning ability even under rainfalls. Indeed, it is known that self-cleaning properties can help to remove dust and particles during rainfalls and as a consequence to clean the surface. The bioinspiration of these surface properties is of a real interest for industrial applications in the nanotechnology field such as photovoltaic systems or anti corrosive material. Here, we use a strategy based on electropolymerization to obtain these properties. The Staudinger-Vilarrasa reaction is used to prepare innovative 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole (EDOP) monomers with fluorinated chains. Using C6F13 or C8F17 chains, the polymer surfaces formed after electrodeposition show superhydrophobic and superoleophobic features. Here we study the surface wettability depending on the surface energy (based on the perfluorinated chain length), the surface roughness and morphology.

Recent advances in the study and design of parahydrophobic surfaces: From natural examples to synthetic approaches

Parahydrophobic surfaces are an interesting class of materials that combines both high contact angles and very strong adhesion with wetting fluids, most commonly water. This unique set of properties makes parahydrophobic surfaces attractive for a variety of applications, including water harvesting and collection, guided fluid transport, and membrane development, amongst many others. Taking inspiration from natural surfaces that display this same behavior such as rose petals and gecko feet, synthetic approaches aim to incorporate the nano- and micro-scale topography as well as the low surface energy chemistry found on these interfaces. Here, we discuss the chemical and physical factors that contribute to parahydrophobic behavior and provide a comprehensive overview on the current technologies and procedures used towards constructing surfaces that mimic this behavior already observed in nature. This includes etching processes, colloidal assemblies, deposition methods, and in situ growth of surface features. Furthermore, issues such as ease of scale-up, efficiency of technical procedures, and other current challenges associated with these methods will be discussed to provide insight as to the future directions for this growing area of research.

Facile fabrication of raspberry-like composite microspheres for the construction of superhydrophobic films and applications in highly efficient oil–water separation

Inspired by the “lotus effect”, we proposed a facile synthetic route toward raspberry-like PS@SiO₂ microspheres, which further lead to superhydrophobic surfaces.

Biomimetic superwettable materials with structural colours

This review aims at offering a comprehension elaboration of the mechanism, recent biomimetic research and applications of biomimetic superwettable materials with structural colours. Futhermore, this review will provide significant insight into the design, fabrication and application of biomimetic superwettable materials with structural colours.