Ilker S. Bayer

Magnetically Driven Floating Foams for the Removal of Oil Contaminants from Water

In this study, we present a novel composite material based on commercially available polyurethane foams functionalized with colloidal superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and submicrometer polytetrafluoroethylene particles, which can efficiently separate oil from water. Untreated foam surfaces are inherently hydrophobic and oleophobic, but they can be rendered water-repellent and oil-absorbing by a solvent-free, electrostatic polytetrafluoroethylene particle deposition technique. It was found that combined functionalization of the polytetrafluoroethylene-treated foam surfaces with colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles significantly increases the speed of oil absorption. Detailed microscopic and wettability studies reveal that the combined effects of the surface morphology and of the chemistry of the functionalized foams greatly affect the oil-absorption dynamics. In particular, nanoparticle capping molecules are found to play a major role in this mechanism. In addition to the water-repellent and oil-absorbing capabilities, the functionalized foams exhibit also magnetic responsivity. Finally, due to their light weight, they float easily on water. Hence, by simply moving them around oil-polluted waters using a magnet, they can absorb the floating oil from the polluted regions, thereby purifying the water underneath. This low-cost process can easily be scaled up to clean large-area oil spills in water.

Inherently superoleophobic nanocomposite coatings by spray atomization.

We describe a technique to fabricate, for the first time, superoleophobic coatings by spray casting nanoparticle-polymer suspensions. The method involves the use of ZnO nanoparticles blended with a waterborne perfluoroacrylic polymer emulsion using cosolvents. Acetone is shown to be an effective compatibilizing cosolvent to produce self-assembling nanocomposite slurries that form hierarchical nanotextured morphology upon curing. Fabricated coating surface morphology is investigated with an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), and surface wettability is characterized by static and dynamic contact angle measurements. The coatings can be applied to large and/or flexible substrates by spray coating with ease and require no additional surface treatments of commonly used hydrophobic molecules such as fluorosilanes; i.e., the nanocomposites are inherently superoleophobic. The superoleophobic nature of the coatings is also discussed within the framework of Cassie-Baxter and Wenzel wetting theories.

Advances in top-down and bottom-up surface nanofabrication: techniques, applications & future prospects.

This review highlights the most significant advances of the nanofabrication techniques reported over the past decade with a particular focus on the approaches tailored towards the fabrication of functional nano-devices. The review is divided into two sections: top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication. Under the classification of top-down, special attention is given to technical reports that demonstrate multi-directional patterning capabilities less than or equal to 100 nm. These include recent advances in lithographic techniques, such as optical, electron beam, soft, nanoimprint, scanning probe, and block copolymer lithography. Bottom-up nanofabrication techniques--such as, atomic layer deposition, sol-gel nanofabrication, molecular self-assembly, vapor-phase deposition and DNA-scaffolding for nanoelectronics--are also discussed. Specifically, we describe advances in the fabrication of functional nanocomposites and graphene using chemical and physical vapor deposition. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive platform for prominent nanofabrication tools and techniques in order to facilitate the development of new or hybrid nanofabrication techniques leading to novel and efficient functional nanostructured devices.

Advances in bionanomaterials for bone tissue engineering.

Bone is a specialized form of connective tissue that forms the skeleton of the body and is built at the nano and microscale levels as a multi-component composite material consisting of a hard inorganic phase (minerals) in an elastic, dense organic network. Mimicking bone structure and its properties present an important frontier in the fields of nanotechnology, materials science and bone tissue engineering, given the complex morphology of this tissue. There has been a growing interest in developing artificial bone-mimetic nanomaterials with controllable mineral content, nanostructure, chemistry for bone, cartilage tissue engineering and substitutes. This review describes recent advances in bionanomaterials for bone tissue engineering including developments in soft tissue engineering. The significance and basic process of bone tissue engineering along with different bionanomaterial bone scaffolds made of nanocomposites and nanostructured biopolymers/bioceramics and the prerequisite biomechanical functions are described. It also covers latest developments in soft-tissue reconstruction and replacement. Finally, perspectives on the future direction in nanotechnology-enabled bone tissue engineering are presented.

Recent advances in the mechanical durability of superhydrophobic materials

Large majority of superhydrophobic surfaces have very limited mechanical wear robustness and long-term durability. This problem has restricted their utilization in commercial or industrial applications and resulted in extensive research efforts on improving resistance against various types of wear damage. In this review, advances and developments since 2011 in this field will be covered. As such, we summarize progress on fabrication, design and understanding of mechanically durable superhydrophobic surfaces. This includes an overview of recently published diagnostic techniques for probing and demonstrating tribo-mechanical durability against wear and abrasion as well as other effects such as solid/liquid spray or jet impact and underwater resistance. The review is organized in terms of various types of mechanical wear ranging from substrate adhesion, tangential surface abrasion, and dynamic impact to ultrasonic processing underwater. In each of these categories, we highlight the most successful approaches to produce robust surfaces that can maintain their non-wetting state after the wear or abrasive action. Finally, various recommendations for improvement of mechanical wear durability and its quantitative evaluation are discussed along with potential future directions towards more systematic testing methods which will also be acceptable for industry.

All-natural composite wound dressing films of essential oils encapsulated in sodium alginate with antimicrobial properties.

We present natural polymeric composite films made of essential oils (EOs) dispersed in sodium alginate (NaAlg) matrix, with remarkable anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties. Namely, elicriso italic, chamomile blue, cinnamon, lavender, tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass and lemon oils were encapsulated in the films as potential active substances. Glycerol was used to induce plasticity and surfactants were added to improve the dispersion of EOs in the NaAlg matrix. The topography, chemical composition, mechanical properties, and humidity resistance of the films are presented analytically. Antimicrobial tests were conducted on films containing different percentages of EOs against Escherichia coli bacteria and Candida albicans fungi, and the films were characterized as effective or not. Such diverse types of essential oil-fortified alginate films can find many applications mainly as disposable wound dressings but also in food packaging, medical device protection and disinfection, and indoor air quality improvement materials, to name a few.

Contact angle dynamics in droplets impacting on flat surfaces with different wetting characteristics

An experimental study is presented on contact angle dynamics during spreading/recoiling of mm-sized water droplets impacting orthogonally on various surfaces with

Highly Liquid-Repellent, Large-Area, Nanostructured Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) Composite Coatings: Particle Filler Effects

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Superhydrophobic Nanocomposite Surface Topography and Ice Adhesion

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Water-Repellent Cellulose Fiber Networks with Multifunctional Properties

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