Project description:Owing to their superior mechanical strength and structure similarity to the extracellular matrix, nanocelluloses as a class of emerging biomaterials have attracted great attention in three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting to fabricate various tissue mimics. Yet, when printing complex geometries, the desired ink performance in terms of shape fidelity and object resolution demands a wide catalogue of tunability on the material property. This paper describes surface engineered biomimetic inks based on cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and cross-linkable hemicellulose derivatives for UV-aided extrusion printing, being inspired by the biomimetic aspect of intrinsic affinity of heteropolysaccharides to cellulose in providing the ultrastrong but flexible plant cell wall structure. A facile aqueous-based approach was established for the synthesis of a series of UV cross-linkable galactoglucomannan methacrylates (GGMMAs) with tunable substitution degrees. The rapid gelation window of the formulated inks facilitates the utilization of these wood-based biopolymers as the feeding ink for extrusion-based 3D printing. Most importantly, a wide and tunable spectrum ranging from 2.5 to 22.5 kPa of different hydrogels with different mechanical properties could be achieved by varying the substitution degree in GGMMA and the compositional ratio between GGMMA and CNFs. Used as the seeding matrices in the cultures of human dermal fibroblasts and pancreatic tumor cells, the scaffolds printed with the CNF/GGMMA inks showed great cytocompatibility as well as supported the matrix adhesion and proliferative behaviors of the studied cell lines. As a new family of 3D printing feedstock materials, the CNF/GGMMA ink will broaden the map of bioinks, which potentially meets the requirements for a variety of in vitro cell-matrix and cell-cell interaction studies in the context of tissue engineering, cancer cell research, and high-throughput drug screening.
Project description:Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is considered an energy source for the prebiotic chemical synthesis of life's building blocks. However, it also results in photodegradation of biology-related organic compounds on early Earth. Thus, it is important to find a process to protect these compounds from decomposition by UV irradiation. Herein, pH effects on both the adsorption of peptides on montmorillonite (MMT) and the abilities of peptides to resist UV irradiation due to this adsorption were systematically studied. We found that montmorillonite (MMT) can adsorb peptides effectively under acidic conditions, while MMT-adsorbed peptides can be released under basic conditions. Peptide adsorption is positively correlated with the length of the peptide chains. MMT's adsorption of peptides and MMT-adsorbed peptide desorption are both rapid-equilibrium, and it takes less than 30 min to reach the equilibrium in both cases. Furthermore, compared to free peptides, MMT-adsorbed peptides under acidic conditions are well protected from UV degradation even after prolonged irradiation. These results indicate amino acid/peptides are able to concentrate from aqueous solution by MMT adsorption under low-pH conditions (concentration step). The MMT-adsorbed peptides survive under UV irradiation among other unprotected species (storage step). Then, the MMT-adsorbed peptides can be released to the aqueous solution if the environment becomes more basic (releasing step), and these free peptides are ready for polymerization to polypeptides. Hence, a plausible prebiotic concentration-storage-release cycle of amino acids/peptides for further polypeptide synthesis is established.
Project description:In this study, the effects of nanosecond-pulsed laser and pattern design were researched on the wettability of titanium material. Nanosecond-pulsed laser and heat treatment are used to fabricate superhydrophobic titanium surfaces. The effects of laser power (1⁻3 W) and step size (50⁻300 µm) on a microscale patterned titanium surface (line pattern and grid pattern) were investigated to explain the relation between microstructure and superhydrophobicity. The surface morphologies and wettability of the surfaces were analyzed by three-dimensional confocal microscopy and a contact angle meter. The results show that the laser power and pattern design affected the apparent contact angle (CA) and sliding angle (SA). The maximum step size, which could show superhydrophobicity with apparent CA > 150° and SA < 10°, was increased when the laser power increased from 1 to 3 W. Grid pattern showed isotropic wetting behavior, but line pattern showed both isotropic and anisotropic wetting behavior according to step size and laser power. Furthermore, when choosing the proper laser power and step size, the wetting properties of superhydrophobic surface such as lotus effect (apparent CA > 150° and SA < 10°) and petal effect (apparent CA > 150° and no SA) and isotropic/anisotropic behavior can be controlled for applications of water droplet control.
Project description:Highly enhanced solid-state thermochromism is observed in regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, when deposited on a superhydrophobic polymer-SiO2 nanocomposite coating. The conformal P3HT coating on the nanocomposite surface does not alter or reduce superhydrophicity while maintaining its reversible enhanced thermochromism. The polymeric matrix of the superhydrophobic surface is comprised of a blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) copolymer and an acrylic adhesive. Based on detailed X-ray diffraction measurements, this long-lasting, repeatable and hysteresis-free thermochromic effect is attributed to the enhancement of the Bragg peak associated with the d-spacing of interchain directional packing (100) which remains unaltered during several heating-cooling cycles. We propose that the superhydrophobic surface confines π-π interchain stacking in P3HT with uniform d-spacing into its nanostructured texture resulting in better packing and reduction in face-on orientation. The rapid response of the system to sudden temperature changes is also demonstrated by water droplet impact and bounce back on heated surfaces. This effect can be exploited for embedded thin film temperature sensors for metal coatings.
Project description:Here, we report a method to use natural wood lauan as a template to fabricate superhydrophobic biomorphic copper on a carbon substrate (Cu/C). First, a carbon substrate with the microstructure of lauan was obtained by sintering lauan in an oxygen-free environment. A biomorphic Cu/C material was then obtained by immersing this carbon substrate into a Cu(NO3)2 solution and sintering. Finally, the hydrophobicity of the products obtained was investigated. The Cu/C retained the microstructure of the wood well. It exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity after it was modified with fluorine silane. The water contact angle of this modified Cu/C reached 160°.
Project description:The preparation of superhydrophobic (SH) surface on stainless steel by chemical etching method is challenging due to the good corrosion resistance of the material. In this work, SH surface with water contact angle (WCA) as high as 163.21° was accomplished on 304 stainless steel surface by a rapid ultrasonic-assisted chemical etching method within 7 min and a low-cost fluorine-free modification treatment. The mechanism of ultrasonic field on the etching process was explored by detecting the cavitation and oscillation energy in the reactor. It is the first time to found that the ultrasonic cavitation effect enhanced the etching process by both chemical and physical facilitation resulting in hierarchical lamellar micro-structures, "mountain-like" micro-structure clusters and "coral-reef-like" nano-scale structures on the surface. With the ultrasonic power increasing, the ultrasonic cavitation effect not only enhanced the superhydrophobicity of sample surface, but also improved the uniformity of surface wettability. The samples also showed excellent performance of oil/water separation for various organics (all separation efficiencies up to 96%) and remarkable mechanical stability.
Project description:A superhydrophobic coating endows pristine hydrophilic wood with excellent water/moisture repellency and thus prolongs its service life. Generally, the superhydrophobic coating on wood is fabricated by a two-step process in which the nanoparticles are first introduced onto the surface and then modified by low-surface-energy molecules. Herein, for the first time, we have fabricated the superhydrophobic wood via a one-step process free of nanoparticles by immersing the pristine hydrophilic wood, such as pine, balsawood, and basswood, into a composite silane solution of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane. The wood remains superhydrophobic or highly hydrophobic after long-term exposure to mechanical damage (such as abrading, knife-cutting, and tape-peeling), chemical damage (such as immersion in acid, alkali, or ethanol), and environmental impacting (such as UV irradiation and low/high-temperature exposure).
Project description:In this study, a superhydrophobic coating on glass has been prepared through a single-step aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) process. During the process, an aerosolized precursor containing polydimethylsiloxane, epoxy resin, and stearic acid functionalized Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles was deposited onto the glass at 350 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy showed that the precursor was successfully coated and formed a nano/microstructure (surface roughness: 378.0 ± 46.1 nm) on the glass surface. The coated surface had a water contact angle of 159.1 ± 1.2°, contact angle hysteresis of 2.2 ± 1.7°, and rolling off-angle of 1°, indicating that it was superhydrophobic. In the self-cleaning test of the coated surface at a tilted angle of 20°, it was shown that water droplets rolled and washed out dirt on the surface. The stability tests showed that the surface remained superhydrophobic after 120 h of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and even after heat exposure at 350 °C. In addition, the surface was highly repellent to water solutions of pH 1-13. The results showed that the addition of the functionalized nanoparticles into the precursor allowed for the control of surface roughness and provided a simplified single-step fabrication process of the superhydrophobic surface. This provides valuable information for developing the manufacturing process for superhydrophobic surfaces.
Project description:To enhance the stability of wood and decrease restrictions on its use in the furniture industry, hydrophobic modification can be employed to confer waterproof, anti-fouling, and self-cleaning properties. The present study outlines the preparation of silica sol using the sol-gel method, followed by impregnation and chemical vapor deposition methods to modify the sol. After grafting 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-decyl trichlorosilane (FDTS), hydrophobic and superhydrophobic properties were imparted to the wood substrate. To explore the correlation between the surface properties of the wood substrate and superhydrophobic coatings, the densities, porosities, and surface roughness of various tree species were compared. The results showed that the sol-gel method successfully constructed hydrophobic coatings on different wood substrates, with six samples (poplar, elm, toon wood, paulownia, ashtree, and black walnut) achieving superhydrophobic surfaces, with densities ranging from 0.386 to 0.794 g/cm3, porosity ranging from 13.66 to 42.36%, roughness ranging from 4.660 to 11.244 um, and maximum water contact angle of 165.2°. Whereas beech and rosewood only reach the hydrophobic surface. Although the coatings demonstrated good resistance to water, pollutants, self-cleaning, and chemical agents, further improvements are necessary to enhance mechanical wear resistance.
Project description:In recent years, state-of-the-art computational modeling of physical and chemical systems has shown itself to be an invaluable resource in the prediction of the properties and behavior of functional materials. However, construction of a useful computational model for novel systems in both academic and industrial contexts often requires a great depth of physicochemical theory and/or a wealth of empirical data, and a shortage in the availability of either frustrates the modeling process. In this work, computational intelligence is instead used, including artificial neural networks and evolutionary computation, to enhance our understanding of nature-inspired superhydrophobic behavior. The relationships between experimental parameters (water droplet volume, weight percentage of nanoparticles used in the synthesis of the polymer composite, and distance separating the superhydrophobic surface and the pendant water droplet in adhesive force measurements) and multiple objectives (water droplet contact angle, sliding angle, and adhesive force) are built and weighted. The obtained optimal parameters are consistent with the experimental observations. This new approach to materials modeling has great potential to be applied more generally to aid design, fabrication, and optimization for myriad functional materials.