The effective acquisition of clean water from atmospheric water offers a potential sustainable solution for increasing global water and energy shortages. In this study, an asymmetric amphiphilic surface incorporating self-driven triboelectric adsorption was developed to obtain clean water from the atmosphere. Inspired by cactus spines and beetle elytra, the asymmetric amphiphilic surface was constructed by synthesizing amphiphilic cellulose ester coatings followed by coating on laser-engraved spines of fluorinated ethylene propylene. Notably, the spontaneous interfacial triboelectric charge between the droplet and the collector was exploited for electrostatic adsorption. Additionally, the droplet triboelectric nanogenerator converts the mechanical energy generated by droplets falling into electrical energy through the volume effect, achieving an excellent output performance, and further enhancing the electrostatic adsorption by means of external charges, which achieved a water harvesting efficiency of 93.18 kg/m2 h. This strategy provides insights for the design of water harvesting system.
Triboelectric probes have rapidly developed as an efficient tool for understanding contact electrification at liquid–solid interfaces. However, the liquid–solid electrification process is susceptible to interference from chemical components in mixed solutions, severely limiting the potential applications of triboelectric probes in various liquid environments. This study for the first time reports a triboelectric probe capable of sucrose solution concentration sensing, finding that the dissolution of sucrose destroys the hydrogen bond network between water molecules and forms sucrose–water hydrogen bonds, which alters the fluid mechanics characteristics of the solution and enhances its conductivity, thereby reducing the droplet size and causing an ion charge shielding effect that significantly affects the electron transfer in liquid–solid contact electrification. Owing to the feedback of the triboelectric probe on the sucrose concentration gradient‐type sensing electrical signals, efficient sensing of sucrose solution was achieved (sensitivity of −0.0038%−1, response time of 90 ms). The triboelectric probe is also used as a wireless smart terminal to enable real‐time detection of sucrose solution. This work contributes to the understanding of the structure–function relationship between micro hydrogen bonding and macro performance, and provides a promising solution for building sustainable intelligent sensors.
:In this study, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were decorated into Paulownia Sieb. et Zucc. chip. Lignin, as one main component of wood, contains the reducing groups e.g. hydroxyl, carbonyl and aldehyde groups. Under sunlight irradiation, Au (III) diffused into wood was in situ reduced by lignin to form gold nanoparticles. Therefore, the Au NPs/Wood was successfully fabricated by this facile and green procedure.Meanwhile, the three-dimensional interpenetrating network of wood prevented the aggregation of Au NPs which retained its catalytic activity. Methylene blue and 4nitrophenol were adopted as model organic contaminants to evaluate the catalytic hydrogenation ability of the Au NPs/Wood. The analyses of XRD, SEM, ICP-MS and XPS indicated that Au NPs were successfully immobilized in wood chip. The degradation results revealed that the Au NPs/Wood has excellent catalytic activity for methylene blue and 4-nitrophenol hydrogenation under batchwise and continuous flow process. Meanwhile, the Au NPs/Wood also exhibited excellent recyclability. The hydrogenation efficiency of MB and 4-NP still reaches more than 90% after 8 cycles.This study provides a new solution for green and low-cost fabrication of Au NPs/Wood which has broad application prospects in wastewater treatment.
Technical lignin from pulping, an aromatic polymer with ~59% carbon content, was employed to develop novel lignin-based nano carbon thin film (LCF)-copper foil composite films for thermal management applications. A highly graphitized, nanoscale LCF (~80–100 nm in thickness) was successfully deposited on both sides of copper foil by spin coating followed by annealing treatment at 1000 °C in an argon atmosphere. The conditions of annealing significantly impacted the morphology and graphitization of LCF and the thermal conductivity of LCF-copper foil composite films. The LCF-modified copper foil exhibited an enhanced thermal conductivity of 478 W m−1 K−1 at 333 K, which was 43% higher than the copper foil counterpart. The enhanced thermal conductivity of the composite films compared with that of the copper foil was characterized by thermal infrared imaging. The thermal properties of the copper foil enhanced by LCF reveals its potential applications in the thermal management of advanced electronic products and highlights the potential high-value utility of lignin, the waste of pulping.
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