Magnetic liquid marbles capable of hosting both aqueous and organic fluids may serve as new miniature chemical reactors. Chemical reactions can occur either within a single liquid marble or between two magnetic liquid marbles (as illustrated). The liquid marbles can also interact with external devices simply by opening and closing the powdery shell under a magnetic field.

A superhydrophobic fabric coating made of a crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane elastomer, containing well-dispersed hydrophobic silica nanoparticles and fluorinated alkyl silane, shows remarkable durability against repeated machine washes, severe abrasion, strong acid or base, boiling water or beverages and excellent stain resistance.

A fabric coating prepared from a homogeneous mixture of fluorinated‐decyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and hydrolyzed fluorinated alkyl silane shows remarkable self‐healing superhydrophobic and superoleophobic properties and excellent durability against UV light, acid, repeated machine washes, and severe abrasion (see picture).

A robust, superamphiphobic fabric with a novel self‐healing ability to autorepair from chemical damage is prepared by a two‐step wet‐chemistry coating technique using an easily available material system consisting of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene), fluoroalkyl silane, and modified silica nanoparticles. The coated fabrics can withstand at least 600 cycles of standard laundry and 8000 cycles of abrasion without apparently changing the superamphiphobicity. The coating is also very stable to strong acid/base, ozone, and boiling treatments. After being damaged chemically, the coating can restore its super liquid‐repellent properties by a short‐time heating treatment or room temperature ageing. This simple but novel and effective coating system may be useful for the development of robust protective clothing for various applications.

No abstract

Polystyrene nanofibres were electrospun with the inclusion of cationic surfactants ， dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) or tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC), in the polymer solution. A small amount of cationic surfactant effectively stopped the formation of beaded fibres during the electrospinning. The cationic surfactants were also found to improve the solution conductivity, but had no effect on the viscosity. Only DTAB had an effect on the surface tension of the polymer solution, the surface tension decreasing slightly with an increase in the concentration of DTAB. The formation of beaded fibres was attributed to an insufficient stretch of the filaments during the whipping of jet, due to a low charge density. Adding the cationic surfactants improved the net charge density that enhanced the whipping instability. The jet was stretched under stronger charge repulsion and at a higher speed, resulting in an exhaustion of the bead structure. In addition, a polymer/surfactant interaction was found in the

Considerable interest has been devoted to converting mechanical energy into electricity using polymer nanofibres. In particular, piezoelectric nanofibres produced by electrospinning have shown remarkable mechanical energy-to-electricity conversion ability. However, there is little data for the acoustic-to-electric conversion of electrospun nanofibres. Here we show that electrospun piezoelectric nanofibre webs have a strong acoustic-to-electric conversion ability. Using poly(vinylidene fluoride) as a model polymer and a sensor device that transfers sound directly to the nanofibre layer, we show that the sensor devices can detect low-frequency sound with a sensitivity as high as 266 mV Pa À 1 . They can precisely distinguish sound waves in low to middle frequency region. These features make them especially suitable for noise detection. Our nanofibre device has more than five times higher sensitivity than a commercial piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) film device. Electrospun piezoelectric nanofibres may be useful for developing high-performance acoustic sensors.

Randomly oriented electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofibre membranes were directly used as active layers to make mechanicalto-electrical energy conversion devices. Without any extra poling treatment, the device can generate voltage outputs as high as several volts upon receiving a mechanical impact. The device also showed long-term working stability and the ability to drive electronic devices.