This study demonstrates a simple and fast method to integrate superhydrophobicity, UV protection, and photothermal effect onto PET fabrics. The surface of PET fabric forms a hierarchical rough structure through in situ oxidative polymerization of the pyrrole (Py). The 1,4conjugate addition reaction between pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, 3aminopropyltriethoxysilane, and octadecyl acrylate not only endows the PET fabric with superhydrophobicity but also forms a cross-linked network structure which improves the stability of multifunctional coatings on the surface of the PET fabric. In addition, the wettability of the prepared PET fabric is investigated by adjusting the Py monomer and octadecyl acrylate concentration. The results reveal that the prepared PET fabrics exhibit obviously superhydrophobic behavior with a contact angle of 155.8°. The surface temperature of the superhydrophobic PPy/PET fabric can rise to 91 °C under a simulated sunlight which is much higher than the pristine PET fabric, while reaching basically the same steady-state in five heating/cooling cycles. The prepared PET fabric also possesses excellent self-cleaning, UV shielding, and solar light absorption performances. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic PET fabric exhibited excellent stability against 180 °C high temperature, strong UV radiation, different pH solutions and organic solvent erosion, 8 h washing tests, and 25 sandpaper abrasion cycles. These findings provide a path for the future development of multifunctional fabrics using fluorine-free environmentally friendly materials.
In recent years, photothermal materials that can convert light into heat energy have attracted extensive attention. In this work, we report a simple and effective approach to construct a self-cleaning photothermal superamphiphobic fabric. Dopamine (DA) can self-polymerize into polydopamine (PDA) and adhere to the surface of cotton fabric as a secondary reaction platform. Then, SiO 2 nanoparticles were in situ grown on the PDA@fabric surface by the sol−gel method. The PDA clusters can not only provide good photothermal conversion performance but also be integrated with SiO 2 to create micro−nano rough structures. Finally, the surface of SiO 2 was modified by the long chain of fluorosilane to decrease the fabric surface energy, resulting in superamphiphobicity. The contact angles of water, ethylene glycol, and pump oil on the modified fabric surface could reach 161.1, 158.1, and 142.2°, respectively, making the fabric resistant to contamination by water, common beverages, and oil. Due to the adhesion of the PDA layer, the strong binding force between the fabric and SiO 2 particles enabled the modified fabric to withstand various chemical and mechanical attacks, showing excellent mechanical robustness and harsh environmental stability. More importantly, the surface temperature of the modified fabric could be increased from 19.6 to 37.0 °C, which is close to the human body temperature, under the irradiation of simulated sunlight (I = 15 A, 300 s). The photothermal superamphiphobic fabrics with self-cleaning properties show great promise in the photothermal conversion field.
Developing nonflammable organic electrolytes has been regarded as one of the most valuable strategies for tackling the safety issues of rechargeable lithium batteries. However, a quantitative and precise evaluation of electrolyte safety remains challenging mostly because of the inconsistent measurement conditions and the lack of a basic reference system. In this work, we performed a benchmark study on the safety of organic electrolytes by characterizing with cone calorimetry the thermochemistry of various types of single-solvent electrolytes. An intrinsically safe organic electrolyte should show simultaneous low total heat release, low maximum heat release rate, long time to ignition, and short self-extinguishing time. Experimentally, a “cocktail” therapy combining polyfluorinated solvents and high-boiling point solvents is found to be the optimal choice for composing nonflammable electrolytes. Our results help to identify promising electrolyte components and shed light on the reasonable design of high-safety organic electrolytes for advanced rechargeable batteries.
The limited robustness and complex preparation process greatly hinder the large-scale use of superhydrophobic surfaces in real life. In this work, we adopt a simple method to prepare robust fluorine-free...
Here, a facile method is reported to prepare multifunctional cotton fabrics with high flame retardancy, high electrical conductivity, superamphiphobicity, and high electromagnetic shielding. The cotton fabric surface was first modified with phytic acid (PA), which promoted dehydration and carbonization of cellulose to increase flame retardancy in the process of pyrolysis. Tannic acid (TA) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) coating with nanospheres as interlayers created hierarchical roughness that facilitated the construction of superamphiphobic surfaces and provided adhesion sites for silver nanoparticles. In addition, the TA-APTES coating improved flame retardancy because the APTES-containing silicon could form silicon carbon layers to isolate heat and oxygen. Subsequently, the surface energy of the composite cotton fabric was reduced by fluorine-containing molecules. The prepared composite cotton fabric exhibited excellent superamphiphobicity with contact angles of 160.3 and 152° for water and olive oil, respectively. The conductivity and EMI shielding efficiency of the prepared composite cotton fabric reached 629.93 S/cm and 76 dB, respectively. Importantly, the composite cotton fabric maintained a relatively stable EMI shielding efficiency even after cyclic bending and abrasion tests. Moreover, the composite cotton fabric possessed a high limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 45.3% and self-extinguishing properties with the peak heat release rate (PHHR) and total heat release (THR) reduced by 73 and 67%, respectively, than the pure cotton fabric, indicating the outstanding flame retardancy.
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