Dingcai Wu,*,† Fei Xu,† Bin Sun,† Ruowen Fu,† Hongkun He,‡ and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski*,‡ †Materials Science Institute, Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People's Republic of China ‡Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States

Design and Preparation of Porous Polymers

As a ubiquitous solar-thermal energy conversion process, solar-driven evaporation has attracted tremendous research attention owing to its high conversion efficiency of solar energy and transformative industrial potential. In recent years, solar-driven interfacial evaporation by localization of solar-thermal energy conversion to the air/liquid interface has been proposed as a promising alternative to conventional bulk heating-based evaporation, potentially reducing thermal losses and improving energy conversion efficiency. In this Review, we discuss the development of the key components for achieving high-performance evaporation, including solar absorbers, evaporation structures, thermal insulators and thermal concentrators, and discuss how they improve the performance of the solar-driven interfacial evaporation system. We describe the possibilities for applying this efficient solar-driven interfacial evaporation process for energy conversion applications. The exciting opportunities and challenges in both fundamental research and practical implementation of the solar-driven interfacial evaporation process are also discussed. The thermal properties of solar energy can be exploited for many applications, including evaporation. Tao et al. review recent developments in the field of solar-driven interfacial evaporation, which have enabled higher-performance structures by localizing energy conversion to the air/liquid interface.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation

Challenges and Opportunities for Solar Evaporation

Solar-powered water evaporation — the extraction of vapour from liquid water using solar energy — provides the basis for the development of eco-friendly and cost-effective freshwater production. Liquid water consumes and carries energy, and, thus, plays an essential role in this process. As such, extensive experimental and theoretical studies have been focused on water management to achieve efficient solar vapour generation. Many innovative materials have been proposed to enable highly controllable and efficient solar-to-thermal energy conversion to address the challenges in the energy–water nexus from the microscale to the molecular level. In this Review, we summarize the fundamental principles of materials design for efficient solar-to-thermal energy conversion and vapour generation. We discuss how to integrate photothermal materials, nanostructures/microstructures and water–material interactions to improve the performance of the evaporation system via in situ utilization of solar energy. Focusing on materials science and engineering, we overview the key challenges and opportunities for nanostructured and microstructured materials in both fundamental research and practical water-purification applications. Materials engineering enables the control of water–material interactions in solar vapour generators, which aim to efficiently utilize solar energy for the cost-effective production of clean water. This Review discusses material-design principles for solar evaporators, spanning from macrostructures to molecular configurations.

Materials for solar-powered water evaporation

Toughening of photo-curable polymer networks: a review

Dispersion stability of thermal nanofluids

The amphiphilic triblock copolymer poly(e-caprolactone)-b-polybutadiene-b-poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL−PB−PCL) was synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone in the presence of a hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), which was catalyzed by stannous octanoate [Sn(Oct)2]. The amphiphilic triblock copolymer was further used to prepare the nanostructured epoxy thermosets. The in situ polymerization of epoxy monomers in the presence of PCL−PB−PCL started from the homogeneous solutions composed of the block copolymer and the monomers of epoxy at the temperature above the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and HTPB blends. The transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the nanostructured thermosets were successfully obtained. Depending on the content of the block copolymer in the thermosets, the PB domains can display spherical and interconnected nanoobjects...

Nanostructured Thermosetting Blends of Epoxy Resin and Amphiphilic Poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) Triblock Copolymer

A polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymer was synthesized via the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene with mono-2-bromoisobutyryl-terminated PEO [PEO−OOCCBr(CH3)2] as a macroinitiator, and the polymerization was mediated by copper(I) bromide (CuBr) and 2,2‘-bipyridine (BPY). The PS-b-PEO diblock copolymer was used to incorporate into epoxy resin to afford the nanostructured epoxy thermosets. Both atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) showed that the long-range ordered nanostructures were obtained via the approach of in situ polymerization in the presence of the diblock copolymer. It was found that the nanophases of PS were arranged into a simple cubic symmetry lattice while the content of diblock copolymer was 40 wt %. In view of the difference in miscibility and phase behavior for the blends of the subchains (i.e., PS and PEO) of the diblock copolymer with epoxy after and before curing, the formation of the ordered nanostructures ...

Formation of Ordered Nanostructures in Epoxy Thermosets: A Mechanism of Reaction-Induced Microphase Separation

Ga-In liquid metal nanoparticles prepared by physical vapor deposition

We have studied the thermal annealing effect on friction of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) using atomic force microscopy and frictional force microscopy. The friction is found to increase with thermal annealing time once the annealing temperature is high enough. The change in friction is well correlated with the change in the SAM structure. From a densely packed (∛×∛)R30° phase to a (p×∛) stripe phase with lower density, the magnitude of friction is found to increase by ∼10 times. Such an increase in friction is proposed as being due to the less compact surface structure of the stripe phase, which opens up additional energy dissipation channels to the film.

Qi Liang

Papers

Dispersion stability of thermal nanofluids

Nanostructured Thermosetting Blends of Epoxy Resin and Amphiphilic Poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) Triblock Copolymer

Formation of Ordered Nanostructures in Epoxy Thermosets: A Mechanism of Reaction-Induced Microphase Separation

Ga-In liquid metal nanoparticles prepared by physical vapor deposition

Frictional properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers with different thermal annealing