Daoben Zhu

Bio: Daoben Zhu is an academic researcher from Chinese Academy of Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nanostructure & Rotaxane. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 19 publications receiving 7812 citations.

Super-hydrophobic surfaces: From natural to artificial

Abstract: Super-hydrophobic surfaces, with a water contact angle (CA) greater than 150degreesC, have attracted much interest for both fundamental research and practical applications. Recent studies on lotus and rice leaves reveal that a super-hydrophobic surface with both a large CA and small sliding angle (alpha) needs the cooperation of micro- and nanostructure, and the arrangement of the microstructures on this surface can influence the way a water droplet tends to move. These results form the natural world provide a guide for constructing artificial super-hydrophobic surfaces and designing surfaces with controllable wettability. Accordingly, super-hydrophobic surfaces of polymer nanofibers and differently patterned aligned carbon nanotube (ACNT) films have been fabricated.

Reversible super-hydrophobicity to super-hydrophilicity transition of aligned ZnO nanorod films

Abstract: Remarkable surface wettability transition occurs with an inducement of ultraviolet (UV) for aligned ZnO nanorod films. The inorganic oxide films, which show super-hydrophobicity (left), become super-hydrophilic (right) when exposed to UV illumination. After the films are placed in the dark, the wettability evolves back to super-hydrophobicity. This reversible effect is ascribed to the cooperation of the surface photosensitivity and the aligned nanostructure. Such special property will greatly extend the applications of ZnO films.

Super‐Hydrophobic Surfaces: From Natural to Artificial

Abstract: Super-hydrophobic surfaces, with a water contact angle (CA) greater than 150degreesC, have attracted much interest for both fundamental research and practical applications. Recent studies on lotus and rice leaves reveal that a super-hydrophobic surface with both a large CA and small sliding angle (alpha) needs the cooperation of micro- and nanostructure, and the arrangement of the microstructures on this surface can influence the way a water droplet tends to move. These results form the natural world provide a guide for constructing artificial super-hydrophobic surfaces and designing surfaces with controllable wettability. Accordingly, super-hydrophobic surfaces of polymer nanofibers and differently patterned aligned carbon nanotube (ACNT) films have been fabricated.

Designing Superoleophobic Surfaces

Abstract: Understanding the complementary roles of surface energy and roughness on natural nonwetting surfaces has led to the development of a number of biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces, which exhibit apparent contact angles with water greater than 150 degrees and low contact angle hysteresis. However, superoleophobic surfaces-those that display contact angles greater than 150 degrees with organic liquids having appreciably lower surface tensions than that of water-are extremely rare. Calculations suggest that creating such a surface would require a surface energy lower than that of any known material. We show how a third factor, re-entrant surface curvature, in conjunction with chemical composition and roughened texture, can be used to design surfaces that display extreme resistance to wetting from a number of liquids with low surface tension, including alkanes such as decane and octane.

Molecular self-assembly and nanochemistry: A chemical strategy for the synthesis of nanostructures

Abstract: Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.

Synthetic molecular motors and mechanical machines.

Abstract: The widespread use of controlled molecular-level motion in key natural processes suggests that great rewards could come from bridging the gap between the present generation of synthetic molecular systems, which by and large rely upon electronic and chemical effects to carry out their functions, and the machines of the macroscopic world, which utilize the synchronized movements of smaller parts to perform specific tasks. This is a scientific area of great contemporary interest and extraordinary recent growth, yet the notion of molecular-level machines dates back to a time when the ideas surrounding the statistical nature of matter and the laws of thermodynamics were first being formulated. Here we outline the exciting successes in taming molecular-level movement thus far, the underlying principles that all experimental designs must follow, and the early progress made towards utilizing synthetic molecular structures to perform tasks using mechanical motion. We also highlight some of the issues and challenges that still need to be overcome.