Underwater superoleophobic materials have shown promising applications in various fields, especially in the highly frequent oil‐spill accidents. However, the transparency and mechanical properties of existing underwater superoleophobic materials are generally mutually exclusive. In this work, a transparent and mechanically robust underwater superoleophobic film is presented by combining superspreading and biomineralization. Unlike the conventional hydrogel‐based materials, the transparent mineralized film exhibits significantly improved mechanical properties, which lead to a robust underwater superoleophobicity and an ultralow oil adhesion. Such a bioinspired mineralized film can be coated on various transparent supporting materials such as glass, polystyrene (PS), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and polypropylene (PP), showing promising applications in various fields, such as goggles, underwater cameras, and submarines.
In article number 1907413, Shutao Wang, Bailiang Wang, Jingxin Meng, and co‐workers prepare a transparent and mechanically robust underwater superoleophobic film by combining superspreading and biomineralization. The nacre‐like composition and structures significantly improve the mechanical properties of the film, imparting a robust underwater superoleophobicity and ultralow oil‐adhesion. Such films can be coated on different transparent materials and have promising applications in areas such as underwater optics and biological imaging.
To avoid disastrous consequences from ice deposition, solar anti‐icing surfaces (SASs) have performed the potential of anti‐icing application because of their excellent photothermal de‐icing effect in the daytime. However, the deposition of ice still cannot be prevented due to the lack of solar energy at cold night, inevitably requiring extra energy consumption such as electrical heating. In this work, a bio‐inspired anti‐icing material (BAM) is presented, showing an energy‐saving design for sustainable ice repellency. By integrating a phase change microcapsule (PCM) layer with a superhydrophobic photothermal (SPT) layer, the BAM can delay icing for more than 8 h at cold night without any external energy. Different from traditional SASs, the PCM layer can store energy in the daytime and release heat energy for keeping temperature up freezing point at night. In addition, the SPT layer displays excellent solar‐to‐heat conversion for sufficient energy and robust self‐cleaning property for avoiding the blockage of sunlight from the contaminants or molten water, thereby resulting in the excellent icing delay. Therefore, this design can be developed and utilized for sustainable ice repellent applications such as power transmission, building infrastructure, and transportation networks.
The leakage of offshore crude oil and the discharge of industrial oily wastewater always bring great harm to human health and ecological environment. To solve these problems, advanced interfacial materials for oil–water separation have attracted wide attentions. However, most of these materials still have several disadvantages including complicated preparation process, low separation efficiency, and easy damage. Herein, a nacre‐inspired biomineralized mesh (NBM) with underwater superoleophobicity shows scalable and robust oil–water separation with high efficiency. Through the combination of dip coating and biomineralization, the NBM is readily scalable fabrication. Similar chemical components and micro‐nanostructures to the natural nacre endow the NBM with good mechanical properties. Furthermore, the NBM can resist to sand impingement and knife scratch along high efficiency of oil–water separation (≈99.9%) even after repeated use for 50 times, which may come from its high hardness and Young's modulus. Therefore, this study provides new insights for the scalable development of oil–water separation materials with high efficiency and robustness.
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