Jinglan Huo

Green, Biodegradable, Underwater Superoleophobic Wood Sheet for Efficient Oil/Water Separation

Superwettable (by water or oil) materials have been used in oil/water separation to cope with the growing oily industrial sewage discharge and oil spill accidents. The artificial superwetting materials for oil/water separation that have been previously reported are expensive, and using them usually causes secondary pollution, so practical, large-scale uses of those materials are limited. Here, we find that wood sheet shows underwater superoleophobicity and low oil adhesion in water, resulting from its strong capacity of absorbing water. A through-microhole array was created on the wood sheet surface by a simple mechanical drilling process. The prewetted porous sheet had great ability to separate the mixtures of water and oil with high separation efficiency. Wood is a low cost, green, and natural eco-friendly material; therefore, we believe that such a simple, low-cost, efficient, and green route of large-scale oil/water separation has great potential to practically solve the pollution problems caused by oil spill and oily industrial wastewater.

Controlling the morphology and adhesion of C6 glioma cell by 3D micro/nano silicon structures based on femtosecond laser ablation (Conference Presentation)

Glioma accounts for the majority of brain cancer and is the most common and aggressive human cerebral disease with low survival rates, which have received much attention on how the cancer cells can be controlled. The aim of this report is to investigate the controlling of C6 glioma cells on 3D micro/nano silicon structures with different surface energy. The silicon surface topography was formed by femtosecond laser and adjusted through changing the processing parameter. The transformation of surface energy was realized by covering a layer of organosilane with low surface tention--1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (PFDTS). The results showed that the fewest C6 cells adhered onto hierarchical micro-mountain structures with organosilane, which exhibited the anti-cell property, while the most C6 cells adhered onto nano-grain particle structures without any modification. For the same 3D structure, the adhesion force between cells and silicon surface with various structure was weaker while lowering the surface energy. Based on the analysis of fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy images, we proposed an underlining mechanism on how C6 cell morphology and adhesion is controlled by silicon 3D structure and surface energy. In addition, the formation of arbitrary cell patterns was achieved successfully. The findings may provide a conception for the preparation of cell detector and implantable biological scaffold.

Reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity on the superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh for controlling underwater bubble wettability

Controlling the underwater bubble wettability on a solid surface is of great research significance. In this letter, a simple method to achieve reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and underwater superaerophobicity on a superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh by alternately vacuumizing treatment in water and drying in air is reported. Such reversible switch endows the as-prepared mesh with many functional applications in controlling bubble’s behavior on a solid substrate. The underwater superaerophilic mesh is able to absorb/capture bubbles in water, while the superaerophobic mesh has great anti-bubble ability. The reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity can selectively allow bubbles to go through the resultant mesh; that is, bubbles can pass through the underwater superaerophilic mesh while are fully intercepted by the underwater superaerophobic mesh in a water medium. We believe these meshes will have important applications in removing or capturing underwater bubbles/gas.Controlling the underwater bubble wettability on a solid surface is of great research significance. In this letter, a simple method to achieve reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and underwater superaerophobicity on a superhydrophobic nanowire-haired mesh by alternately vacuumizing treatment in water and drying in air is reported. Such reversible switch endows the as-prepared mesh with many functional applications in controlling bubble’s behavior on a solid substrate. The underwater superaerophilic mesh is able to absorb/capture bubbles in water, while the superaerophobic mesh has great anti-bubble ability. The reversible switch between underwater superaerophilicity and superaerophobicity can selectively allow bubbles to go through the resultant mesh; that is, bubbles can pass through the underwater superaerophilic mesh while are fully intercepted by the underwater superaerophobic mesh in a water medium. We believe these meshes will have important applications in removing or capturing ...

Femtosecond laser ablated durable superhydrophobic PTFE sheet for oil/water separation

Femtosecond laser microfabrication has been attracting increasing interest of researchers in recent years, and been applied on interface science to control the wettability of solid surfaces. Herein, we fabricate a kind of rough microstructures on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sheet by femtosecond laser. The femtosecond laser ablated surfaces show durable superhydrophobicity and ultralow water adhesion even after storing in a harsh environment for a long time, including strong acid, strong alkali, and high temperature. A penetrating microholes array was further generated on the rough superhydrophobic PTFE sheet by a subsequent mechanical drilling process. The as-prepared material was successfully applied in the field of oil/water separation due to the inverse superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity.