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Showing papers by "Zhong Chen published in 2017"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Inspired by the superhydrophobic lotus surface in nature, special wettability has attracted a lot of interest and attention in both academia and industry as discussed by the authors, and the strategies for constructing fabric surfaces with an anti-wetting property are categorized and discussed based on the morphology of particles coated on the textile fibre.
Abstract: Inspired by the superhydrophobic lotus surface in nature, special wettability has attracted a lot of interest and attention in both academia and industry In this review, theoretical models and fabrication strategies of superhydrophobic textiles have been discussed in detail The strategies for constructing fabric surfaces with an anti-wetting property are categorized and discussed based on the morphology of particles coated on the textile fibre Such special wettability textile surfaces are demonstrated with self-cleaning, oil/water separation, self-healing, UV-blocking, photocatalytic, anti-bacterial, and flame-retardant performances Correspondingly, potential applications have been illustrated for self-cleaning, oil/water separation, asymmetric/anisotropic wetting janus fabric, microfluidic manipulation, and micro-templates for patterning In each section, representative studies are highlighted with emphasis on the special wetting ability and other relevant properties Finally, the difficulties and challenges for practical application were briefly discussed

469 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A comprehensive review on recent progress of the synthesis and modification ofTiO2 nanotubes to be used for photo/photoelectro‐catalytic water splitting and the future development of TiO2 Nanotubes is discussed.
Abstract: Hydrogen production from water splitting by photo/photoelectron-catalytic process is a promising route to solve both fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution at the same time. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes have attracted much interest due to their large specific surface area and highly ordered structure, which has led to promising potential applications in photocatalytic degradation, photoreduction of CO2, water splitting, supercapacitors, dye-sensitized solar cells, lithium-ion batteries and biomedical devices. Nanotubes can be fabricated via facile hydrothermal method, solvothermal method, template technique and electrochemical anodic oxidation. In this report, we provide a comprehensive review on recent progress of the synthesis and modification of TiO2 nanotubes to be used for photo/photoelectro-catalytic water splitting. The future development of TiO2 nanotubes is also discussed.

409 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a new photocatalyst containing g-C3N4 decorated with CoP nanodots constructed from low-cost precursors is reported, and it is for the first time revealed that the unique P(−)Co(δ+)N(−)-surface bonding states lead to much superior H2 evolution activity.
Abstract: Developing high-efficiency and low-cost photocatalysts by avoiding expensive noble metals, yet remarkably improving H2 evolution performance, is a great challenge. Noble-metal-free catalysts containing Co(Fe)NC moieties have been widely reported in recent years for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction and have also gained noticeable interest for organic transformation. However, to date, no prior studies are available in the literature about the activity of N-coordinated metal centers for photocatalytic H2 evolution. Herein, a new photocatalyst containing g-C3N4 decorated with CoP nanodots constructed from low-cost precursors is reported. It is for the first time revealed that the unique P(δ−)Co(δ+)N(δ−) surface bonding states lead to much superior H2 evolution activity (96.2 µmol h−1) compared to noble metal (Pt)-decorated g-C3N4 photocatalyst (32.3 µmol h−1). The quantum efficiency of 12.4% at 420 nm is also much higher than the record values (≈2%) of other transition metal cocatalysts-loaded g-C3N4. It is believed that this work marks an important step toward developing high-performance and low-cost photocatalytic materials for H2 evolution.

398 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2017-Small
TL;DR: A detailed account of the innovative fabrication technologies and bionic water-harvesting materials with special wetting are summarized, i.e. bio-inspired artificial spider silk, bio- Inspired artificial cactus-like structures, and bio- inspired artificial Namib desert beetle-like surfaces.
Abstract: Nowadays, the pollution of water has become worse in many parts of the world, which causes a severe shortage of clean water and attracts widespread attention worldwide. Bioinspired from nature, i.e. spider silk, cactus, Namib desert beetle, Nepenthes alata, special wettability surfaces have attracted great interest from fundamental research to water-harvesting applications. Here, recently published literature about creatures possessing water-harvesting ability are reviewed, with a focus on the corresponding water-harvesting mechanisms of creatures in dry or arid regions, consisting of the theory of wetting and transporting. Then a detailed account of the innovative fabrication technologies and bionic water-harvesting materials with special wetting are summarized, i.e. bio-inspired artificial spider silk, bio-inspired artificial cactus-like structures, and bio-inspired artificial Namib desert beetle-like surfaces. Special attentions are paid to the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies, as well as factors that affect the amount of water-harvesting. Finally, conclusions, future outlooks and the current challenges for future development of the water-harvesting technology are presented and discussed.

278 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the design strategies, synthesis, application and device performance of the recently reported 2D COFs related to the energy field, including the storage of energy gases, rechargeable lithium batteries, conductivity, and capacitors.
Abstract: Due to their unique properties of porosity, high surface areas and ordered structure as well as possible charge-carrier transfer ability, two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as new candidate materials in various research areas such as catalysis, gas separation and gas storage. As one type of emerging energy materials, the functionalities of 2D COFs could be tuned through carefully selecting different π-electronic building blocks for potential applications in several different energy-related organic devices. Actually, for optoelectronics, 2D COFs with ordered structures have been demonstrated to be promising materials. This review will mainly focus on the design strategies, synthesis, application and device performance of the recently reported 2D COFs related to the energy field, including the storage of energy gases, rechargeable lithium batteries, conductivity, and capacitors. In addition, the prospects of each application have also been discussed shortly by comparing them with other related materials.

225 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a translucent super-hydrophobic coating was fabricated by a simple spray-coating technique using fluorine-free and easily available materials, viz, the hybrids of PDMS and PMMA in THF solution, without any pre/post-treatment.

211 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
23 Oct 2017-Small
TL;DR: Recently published literature about the mechanism of ice prevention is reviewed, with a focus on the anti-icing and ice-phobic mechanisms, encompassing the behavior of condensate microdrops on the surface, wetting, ice nucleation, and freezing.
Abstract: Ice accumulation poses a series of severe issues in daily life. Inspired by the nature, superwettability surfaces have attracted great interests from fundamental research to anti-icing and ice-phobic applications. Here, recently published literature about the mechanism of ice prevention is reviewed, with a focus on the anti-icing and ice-phobic mechanisms, encompassing the behavior of condensate microdrops on the surface, wetting, ice nucleation, and freezing. Then, a detailed account of the innovative fabrication and fundamental research of anti-icing materials with special wettability is summarized with a focus on recent progresses including low-surface energy coatings and liquid-infused layered coatings. Finally, special attention is paid to a discussion about advantages and disadvantages of the technologies, as well as factors that affect the anti-icing and ice-phobic efficiency. Outlooks and the challenges for future development of the anti-icing and ice-phobic technology are presented and discussed.

193 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, in situ-formed cobalt phosphate decorated with N-doped graphitic carbon was prepared using phosphonate-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the precursor.
Abstract: Cobalt phosphate is considered to be one of the most active catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in neutral or near-neutral pH media, but only a few transition-metal phosphates are investigated in alkaline media, probably due to their poor intrinsic electrical conductivity and/or tendency to aggregate. Herein, in situ-formed cobalt phosphate decorated with N-doped graphitic carbon was prepared using phosphonate-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as the precursor. It can serve as a highly active OER catalyst in alkaline media, affording a current density of 10 mA cm–2 at a small overpotential of 215 mV on the Ni foam. A combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and high-resolution XPS elucidates the origin of the high activity. Our observations unveil that cobalt diphosphate having the distorted metal coordination geometry with long Co–O and Co–Co distances is mainly responsible for the high OER activity. These results not only demonstrate the potential of a low-cost OER catalyst derived...

140 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new paradigm for manipulating interfacial chemistry of electrode to solve the key obstacle for LNMO commercialization is heralded, opening a powerful avenue for unlocking the current challenges for a wide family of high operating voltage cathode materials (>4.5 V) toward practical applications.
Abstract: Spinel LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 (LNMO) is the most promising cathode material for achieving high energy density lithium-ion batteries attributed to its high operating voltage (≈4.75 V). However, at such high voltage, the commonly used battery electrolyte is suffered from severe oxidation, forming unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers. This would induce capacity fading, self-discharge, as well as inferior rate capabilities for the electrode during cycling. This work first time discovers that the electrolyte oxidation is effectively negated by introducing an electrochemically stable silk sericin protein, which is capable to stabilize the SEI layer and suppress the self-discharge behavior for LNMO. In addition, robust mechanical support of sericin coating maintains the structural integrity during the fast charging/discharging process. Benefited from these merits, the sericin-based LNMO electrode possesses a much lower Li-ion diffusion energy barrier (26.1 kJ mol-1 ) for than that of polyvinylidene fluoride-based LNMO electrode (37.5 kJ mol-1 ), delivering a remarkable high-rate performance. This work heralds a new paradigm for manipulating interfacial chemistry of electrode to solve the key obstacle for LNMO commercialization, opening a powerful avenue for unlocking the current challenges for a wide family of high operating voltage cathode materials (>4.5 V) toward practical applications.

140 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2017-Small
TL;DR: A way to rationally construct CMDSP surfaces with excellent self-cleaning, antifrosting/icing ability, and enhanced condensation heat transfer efficiency is offered.
Abstract: The ability to release the adhered drops on superhydrophobic surfaces is very important for self-cleaning, antifrosting/icing, microfluidic device, and heat transfer applications. In this paper, three types of in situ electrochemical anodizing TiO2 nanostructure films are rationally designed and fabricated on titanium substrates with special superwettability, viz., TiO2 nanotube arrays, irregular TiO2 nanotube arrays, and hierarchical TiO2 particle arrays (HTPA), and their corresponding behavior in condensate microdrop self-propelling (CMDSP) is investigated. Compared to the flat titanium counterpart, all three types of rough TiO2 samples demonstrate a uniform distribution of smaller microscale droplets. Among the treated surfaces, the HTPA possesses the highest condensate density, and more than 80% of the droplets possess a diameter below 10 μm. Theoretical analysis indicates that the feature is mainly due to the morphology and structure induced extremely low droplet adhesion on super-antiwetting TiO2 hierarchical surfaces, where the excess surface energy released from the migration leads to the self-propelling of merged microdrop. This work offers a way to rationally construct CMDSP surfaces with excellent self-cleaning, antifrosting/icing ability, and enhanced condensation heat transfer efficiency.

107 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experimental results on simulated and real magnetic resonance spectroscopy data show that the proposed approach can successfully recover full signals from very limited samples and is robust to the estimated tensor rank.
Abstract: Signals are generally modeled as a superposition of exponential functions in spectroscopy of chemistry, biology, and medical imaging. For fast data acquisition or other inevitable reasons, however, only a small amount of samples may be acquired, and thus, how to recover the full signal becomes an active research topic, but existing approaches cannot efficiently recover $N$ -dimensional exponential signals with $N\geq 3$ . In this paper, we study the problem of recovering $N$ -dimensional (particularly $N\geq 3$ ) exponential signals from partial observations, and formulate this problem as a low-rank tensor completion problem with exponential factor vectors. The full signal is reconstructed by simultaneously exploiting the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC tensor structure and the exponential structure of the associated factor vectors. The latter is promoted by minimizing an objective function involving the nuclear norm of Hankel matrices. Experimental results on simulated and real magnetic resonance spectroscopy data show that the proposed approach can successfully recover full signals from very limited samples and is robust to the estimated tensor rank.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a functionally layer-graded electrode was designed and fabricated to decrease the charge carrier transport barrier within the electrode, which achieved a remarkable capacity of 128 mAh/g−1 at a high charging/discharging rate of 20 C (6.7
Abstract: Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are primary energy storage devices to power consumer electronics and electric vehicles, but their capacity is dramatically decreased at ultrahigh charging/discharging rates. This mainly originates from a high Li-ion/electron transport barrier within a traditional electrode, resulting in reaction polarization issues. To address this limitation, a functionally layer-graded electrode was designed and fabricated to decrease the charge carrier transport barrier within the electrode. As a proof-of-concept, functionally layer-graded electrodes composing of TiO2(B) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) exhibit a remarkable capacity of 128 mAh g−1 at a high charging/discharging rate of 20 C (6.7 A g−1), which is much higher than that of a traditionally homogeneous electrode (74 mAh g−1) with the same composition. This is evidenced by the improvement of effective Li ion diffusivity as well as electronic conductivity in the functionally layer-graded electrodes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of manganese doping on changes of ferrite crystal structures, magnetic properties, and contrast abilities were investigated, and a successful one-pot synthesis of uniform manganized-doped magnetite (MnxFe3-xO4) nanoparticles with different manganous contents (x = 0.06).
Abstract: Manganese-doped magnetite nanoparticles as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents have been well developed in recent years due to their higher saturation magnetization and stronger transverse (T2) contrast ability compared to parent magnetite. However, the underlying role that manganese doping plays in altering the contrast ability of magnetite is still not thoroughly understood. Herein, we investigate the effects of manganese doping on changes of ferrite crystal structures, magnetic properties, and contrast abilities. We developed a successful one-pot synthesis of uniform manganese-doped magnetite (MnxFe3–xO4) nanoparticles with different manganese contents (x = 0–1.06). The saturation magnetization and T2 contrast ability of ferrite nanoparticles increase along with rising manganese proportion, peak when the doping level of MnxFe3–xO4 reaches x = 0.43, and decrease dramatically as the manganese percentage continues to augment. At high manganese doping level, the manganese ferrite nanoparticles...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed both routes to fabricate the hierarchical micro-nanostructure and single nanostructure superhydrophobic surfaces, and first evaluated their anti-icing capacity based on the routine measuring strategies in laboratory.
Abstract: Materials decorated by the hierarchical micro-nanostructures similar to lotus leaf surface topographies are firmly considered to possess the substantial anti-icing functions, showing icing-delay and low ice adhesion. Here, the aim of this work is to verify the anti-icing capacity in the actual icing environment containing supercooled airflow. This study, therefore, develops both routes to fabricate the hierarchical micro-nanostructure and single nanostructure superhydrophobic surfaces, and first evaluates their anti-icing capacity based on the routine measuring strategies in laboratory. Also, the potential application environment is modeled and used to verify their anti-icing performance for further guiding rational design of surface structures of anti-icing materials. Due to the double-scale effect, the hierarchical micro-nanostructure can induce more air pockets to produce the higher hydrophobicity and anti-icing capacity based on the big reference droplets (diameter > 2 mm) and even static water. However, the verified results in the potential application environment demonstrate that the hierarchical micro-nanostructure exhibits the inferior anti-icing performance, comparing with the single nanostructure. The icing area on the single nanostructure surface is almost half of that on the hierarchical micro-nanostructure surface, also causing a reduction of ≈26 g in icing mass.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of oxygen vacancies (Ovac) on BiVO4 photoanode for PEC water splitting is studied using first-principles calculations, and the results indicate that the holes transfer at the electrode/electrolyte interface play a defining role in determining the surface catalytic activities, and thus functional characteristics of BiVO 4 photoanodes.
Abstract: Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the limiting step in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting process. In this paper, the effect of oxygen vacancies (Ovac) on BiVO4 photoanode for PEC water splitting is studied using first-principles calculations. The results indicate that the holes transfer at the electrode/electrolyte interface play a defining role in determining the surface catalytic activities, and thus functional characteristics of BiVO4 photoanode. There are two main reasons behind the enhancement of OER on the surface of the photoanode. First, the V site becomes the active site for PEC water splitting and the number of the active sites are greatly increased by inducing oxygen vacancies. Second, the adsorption energies of H2Oads, OHads, and Oads are higher in the presence of Ovac, which implies enhanced hole transfer from the photoanode surface to the electrolyte. The change of Gibbs free energy indicates a high possibility of spontaneous charge transfer to the electrolyte, facilitating OER o...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The octahedral shaped Cu2O particles, with exposed {111} facets, possess the best adsorption capability of methyl orange (MO) dye due to the strongest positive surface charge among the different types of particles.
Abstract: Particles of sub-micron size possess significant capacity to adsorb organic molecules from aqueous media. Semiconductor photocatalysts in particle form could potentially be utilized for dye removal through either physical adsorption or photo-induced chemical process. The photocatalytic and adsorption capabilities of Cu2O particles with various exposed crystal facets have been studied through separate adsorption capacity test and photocatalytic degradation test. These crystals display unique cubic, octahedral, rhombic dodecahedral, and truncated polyhedral shapes due to specifically exposed crystal facet(s). For comparison, Cu2O particles with no clear exposed facets were also prepared. The current work confirms that the surface charge critically affects the adsorption performance of the synthesized Cu2O particles. The octahedral shaped Cu2O particles, with exposed {111} facets, possess the best adsorption capability of methyl orange (MO) dye due to the strongest positive surface charge among the different types of particles. In addition, we also found that the adsorption of MO follows the Langmuir monolayer mechanism. The octahedral particles also performed the best in photocatalytic dye degradation of MO under visible light irradiation because of the assistance from dye absorption. On top of the photocatalytic study, the stability of these Cu2O particles during the photocatalytic processes was also investigated. Cu(OH)2 and CuO are the likely corrosion products found on the particle surface after the photocorrosion in MO solution. By adding hole scavengers in the solution, the photocorrosion of Cu2O was greatly reduced. This observation confirms that the photocatalytically generated holes were responsible for the photocorrosion of Cu2O.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Light is shed on how oxygen vacancies affect various aspects of important factors behind PEC performance, which is helpful to the development of more efficient photoanodes in the future.
Abstract: Oxygen vacancies play an important role in the performance improvement of oxide semiconductors as photoanodes for water splitting, such as TiO2, WO3, and Fe2O3 Conductivity improvement due to the presence of oxygen vacancies was reported to be the main reason for the enhanced performance However, oxygen vacancies may also affect light absorption and charge transfer through the solid/electrolyte interface The roles of oxygen vacancies have not been thoroughly discussed in the past Herein, with hematite as an example, the effects of oxygen vacancies on bulk charge transport and surface catalysis are quantitatively analyzed by decoupling photon absorption, interfacial charge transfer and charge separation processes Oxygen vacancies improve the charge separation of both pristine and Ti-doped hematite However, opposite observations are found in the charge transfer process for pristine and Ti-doped hematite: the positive effect in pristine hematite but the negative effect in the Ti-doped one An electrochemical technique is used to analyze the different influences on pristine and Ti-doped hematite to unravel the mechanism of the opposite observations caused by oxygen vacancies The current study sheds lights on how oxygen vacancies affect various aspects of important factors behind PEC performance, which is helpful to the development of more efficient photoanodes in the future

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent advances in ABA signaling pathway in the regulation of seed maturation as well as the transition from Seed maturation to germination are summarized, and the importance of system biology approaches in the study ofseed maturation is highlighted.
Abstract: Seed maturation and germination are two continuous developmental processes that link two distinct generations in spermatophytes; the precise genetic control of these two processes is, therefore, crucially important for the survival of the next generation. Pieces of experimental evidence accumulated so far indicate that a concerted action of endogenous signals and environmental cues is required to govern these processes. Plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) has been suggested to play a predominant role in directing seed maturation and maintaining seed dormancy under unfavorable environmental conditions until antagonized by gibberellins (GA) and certain environmental cues to allow the commencement of seed germination when environmental conditions are favorable; therefore, the balance of ABA and GA is a major determinant of the timing of seed germination. Due to the advent of new technologies and system biology approaches, molecular studies are beginning to draw a picture of the sophisticated genetic network that drives seed maturation during the past decade, though the picture is still incomplete and many details are missing. In this review, we summarize recent advances in ABA signaling pathway in the regulation of seed maturation as well as the transition from seed maturation to germination, and highlight the importance of system biology approaches in the study of seed maturation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that impact droplets on a dome convex superhydrophobic surface could rapidly bounce off with a 28.5% reduction in the contact time, compared with that on flat super hydrophobic surfaces.
Abstract: Bouncing dynamics of impact droplets on solid surfaces intensively appeal to researchers due to the importance in many industrial fields. Here, we found that droplets impacting onto dome convex superhydrophobic surfaces could rapidly bounce off with a 28.5% reduction in the contact time, compared with that on flat superhydrophobic surfaces. This is mainly determined by the retracting process of impact droplets. Under the action of dome convexity, the impact droplet gradually evolves into an annulus shape with a special hydrodynamic distribution. As a consequence, both the inner and external rims of the annulus shape droplet possess a higher retracting velocity under the actions of the inertia force and the surface energy change, respectively. Also, the numerical simulation provides a quantitative evidence to further verify the interpretation on the regimes behind the rapidly detached phenomenon of impact droplets.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: GGD-BSA NPs show remarkable sensitivity in noninvasive detection of liver tumors by self-confirmed T1-T2 dual-mode contrast-enhanced MRI and show good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo, which warrants their great potential in clinical translation.
Abstract: Magnetic resonance contrast agents with T1-T2 dual mode contrast capability have attracted considerable interest because they offer complementary and synergistic diagnostic information, leading to high imaging sensitivity and accurate diagnosis. Here, we reported a facile strategy to construct albumin based nanoparticles loaded with hydrophobic gadolinium chelates by hydrophobic interaction for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We synthesized a glycyrrhetinic acid-containing Gd-DOTA derivative (GGD) and loaded GGD molecules into BSA nanoparticles to form GGD-BSA nanoparticles (GGD-BSA NPs). The large size and porous structure endow GGD-BSA NPs with geometrical confinement, which restricts the tumbling of GGD and the diffusion of surrounding water molecules. As a result, GGD-BSA NPs exhibit ultrahigh T1 and T2 relaxivities, which are approximately 8-fold higher than those of gadolinium-based clinical contrast agents at 0.5 T. Besides, due to the intrinsic properties of their components, GGD-BSA NPs show good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo, which warrants their great potential in clinical translation. Furthermore, GGD-BSA NPs show remarkable sensitivity in noninvasive detection of liver tumors by self-confirmed T1-T2 dual-mode contrast-enhanced MRI. All of these merits make GGD-BSA NPs a potential candidate for fruitful biomedical and preclinical applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Maternal urinary levels of MeP were positively associated with length at birth in boys and strong associations of the current exposure levels of parabens in Chinese pregnant women with size of infants at birth were not found.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a facile dip-coating or electrospraying process using easily available materials, viz. silica nanoparticles, heptadecafluorononanoic, and fluoroalkyl silane, was used to construct multifunctional superamphiphobic fabrics with special wettability.
Abstract: In this work, multifunctional superamphiphobic fabrics with special wettability were constructed by a facile dip-coating or electrospraying process using easily available materials, viz. silica nanoparticles, heptadecafluorononanoic, and fluoroalkyl silane. The obtained HFA–FAS–SiO2 NPs@surface exhibited a contact angle (CA) of 166.4 ± 3.7° and 155.9 ± 2.1° to water and hexadecane, respectively. In addition, this surface also showed stable repellency toward various corrosive droplets at a wide range of pH values, including HCl (pH = 1), NaCl (pH = 7), and NaOH (pH = 14) solutions. After immersion in the strong acid and base solutions for 24 h, the cotton surface still maintained excellent anti-wetting property. The surface was durable enough to withstand 120 cycles of abrasion and 5 cycles of accelerated standard laundry and still kept a water CA higher than 140° and an oil CA higher than 120°. Another treatment method adopted in this work, electrospraying has been proved to be able to realize asymmetric wetting with one side displaying highly anti-wetting behavior and the other side retaining the inherent hydrophilic and oleophilic nature of the pristine cotton fabric. Based on this special wettability, the obtained fabric could display a one-way directional transport feature. This method can also be extended to create hydrophilically and oleophilically patterned superamphiphobic cotton fabrics using a template. This novel fabric is useful for the development of intelligent cellulose-based substrates for various applications.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Unlike monolayer nanoporous GE membranes, at an optimum layer separation distance, the stacked GE membranes with large pore widths and completely misaligned pore configuration can retain complete ion rejection and maintain a high water flux.
Abstract: Stacked graphene (GE) membranes with cascading nanoslits can be synthesized economically compared to monolayer nanoporous GE membranes, and have potential for molecular separation. This study focuses on investigating the seawater desalination performance of these stacked GE layers as forward osmosis (FO) membranes by using molecular dynamics simulations. The FO performance is evaluated in terms of water flux and salt rejection and is explained by analysing the water density distribution and radial distribution function. The water flow displays an Arrhenius type relation with temperature and the activation energy for the stacked GE membrane is estimated to be 8.02 kJ mol−1, a value much lower than that of commercially available FO membranes. The study reveals that the membrane characteristics including the pore width, offset, interlayer separation distance and number of layers have significant effects on the desalination performance. Unlike monolayer nanoporous GE membranes, at an optimum layer separation distance, the stacked GE membranes with large pore widths and completely misaligned pore configuration can retain complete ion rejection and maintain a high water flux. Findings from the present study are helpful in developing GE-based membranes for seawater desalination via FO.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a multi-scale computational approach was explored to capture main damage modes of a braided textile composite; simulations were supported by experimental verification, and the extent of delamination was quantified by applying surface-and element-based cohesive zone models.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: 1H NMR spectroscopy together with pattern recognition methods was used to investigate the responses of hepatopancreas and gill of Haliotis diversicolor to TBT and TPT exposure and provides a useful insight into the toxicological mechanisms of organotin compounds on Haliots diversicolors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experimental results demonstrate that the image quality of low-resolution images can be remarkably improved with the proposed method if this weight is borrowed from a high resolution image with another contrast.
Abstract: Low-resolution images may be acquired in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to limited data acquisition time or other physical constraints, and their resolutions can be improved with super-resolution methods. Since MRI can offer images of an object with different contrasts, e.g., T1-weighted or T2-weighted, the shared information between inter-contrast images can be used to benefit super-resolution. In this study, an MRI image super-resolution approach to enhance in-plane resolution is proposed by exploring the statistical information estimated from another contrast MRI image that shares similar anatomical structures. We assume some edge structures are shown both in T1-weighted and T2-weighted MRI brain images acquired of the same subject, and the proposed approach aims to recover such kind of structures to generate a high-resolution image from its low-resolution counterpart. The statistical information produces a local weight of image that are found to be nearly invariant to the image contrast and thus this weight can be used to transfer the shared information from one contrast to another. We analyze this property with comprehensive mathematics as well as numerical experiments. Experimental results demonstrate that the image quality of low-resolution images can be remarkably improved with the proposed method if this weight is borrowed from a high resolution image with another contrast. Multi-contrast MRI Image Super-resolution with Contrast-invariant Regression Weights

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The simulation results reveal that corrugation of GE layers reduces the water flow rate but largely enhances ion adsorption in comparison to the flat GE layers, which will be helpful in designing effective electrode configurations for capacitive deionization.
Abstract: The effect of the electric field and surface morphology of corrugated graphene (GE) layers on their capacitive deionization process is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Deionization performances are evaluated in terms of water flow rate and ion adsorption and explained by analysing the water density distribution, radial distribution function and distribution of the ions inside the GE layers. The simulation results reveal that corrugation of GE layers reduces the water flow rate but largely enhances ion adsorption in comparison to the flat GE layers. Such enhancement is mainly due to the adsorption of ions on the GE layers due to the anchoring effect in the regions with wide interlayer distances. Moreover, it reveals that the entrance configuration of the GE layers also has a significant effect on the performance of deionization. Overall, the results from this study will be helpful in designing effective electrode configurations for capacitive deionization.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a transparent photoactive coating is obtained by polycondensation of trichlorovinylsilane on cotton fabrics and after being grafted with vinyl group, the coating can be easily functionalized using a photoclick thiol-ene reaction.
Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces in nature have attracted a great deal of interest not only for fundamental understanding but also for practical applications through mimicking the nature. Fluorochemicals, due to their intrinsic low surface energy, have been widely applied as artificial superhydrophobic functionalization materials with excellent performance. However, the use of these materials for practical applications might be restricted due to the relative high cost and potential hazards to human health. In this work, a low-cost and environmentally friendly short silane chain material is developed for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces. A transparent photoactive coating is obtained by polycondensation of trichlorovinylsilane on cotton fabrics. The coating shows excellent superhydrophobicity. After being grafted with vinyl group, the coating can be easily functionalized using a photoclick thiol-ene reaction. The thiol-ene reaction has resulted in highly uniform polymer networks, which makes it possible to realize the rapid wettability switch from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic state. Such ability makes it potentially viable to prepare well-defined cotton patterning by printing, and realize flexible electronic devices when electrodes are printed on the fabrics.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It was found that the mSiO2 shell accelerates the photodegradation of the organic dye, but dramatically reduces the photocatalytic activity of P25 in water splitting and CO2 reduction.
Abstract: In this report, a three-dimensional (3-D) network of core-shell TiO2 (P25)-mesoporous SiO2 (P25@mSiO2) nanocomposites was prepared via a controllable surfactant-assisted sol-gel method. The nanocomposites were investigated for photocatalytic reactions of organic dye degradation, water splitting, and CO2 reduction to understand the roles of the mSiO2 shell in these photocatalytic reactions. It was found that the mSiO2 shell accelerates the photodegradation of the organic dye, but dramatically reduces the photocatalytic activity of P25 in water splitting and CO2 reduction. The roles played by the mSiO2 shell in the photocatalytic reactions are summarized as: (1) effective prevention of agglomeration of P25 nanoparticles, (2) facilitating the transfer of uncharged photo-generated ˙OH radicals via the abundant -OH groups on the mesoporous surface, (3) provision of increased reaction sites between ˙OH radicals and dye molecules by its mesoporous nanostructure and large surface area, and (4) prevention of diffusion of the photo-generated charge carriers (photoelectrons and photoholes) because of its insulating nature.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a facile method to fabricate Co porphyrin functionalized electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (CoTMPyP/ERGO) thin film was reported.