A systematically designed study has been conducted to understand and demarcate the degree of contribution by the constituting elements to the surface tension of nanocolloids. The effects of elements such as surfactants, particles and the combined effects of these on the surface tension of these complex fluids are studied employing the pendant drop shape analysis method by fitting the Young-Laplace equation. Only the particle has shown an increase in the surface tension with particle concentration in a polar medium like DI water, whereas only a marginal effect of particles on surface tension in weakly polar mediums like glycerol and ethylene glycol has been demonstrated. Such behaviour has been attributed to the enhanced desorption of particles to the interface and a theory has been presented to quantify this. The combined particle and surfactant effect on the surface tension of a complex nanofluid system showed a decreasing behaviour with respect to the particle and surfactant concentration with a considerably feeble effect of particle concentration. This combined colloidal system recorded a surface tension value below the surface tension of an aqueous surfactant system at the same concentration, which is a counterintuitive observation as only the particle results in an increase in the surface tension and only the surfactant results in a decrease in the surface tension. The possible physical mechanism behind such an anomaly happening at the complex fluid air interface has been explained. Detailed analyses based on thermodynamic, mechanical and chemical equilibrium of the constituents and their adsorption-desorption characteristics as extracted from the Gibbs adsorption analysis have been provided. The present paper conclusively explains several physical phenomena observed, yet hitherto unexplained, in the case of the surface tension of such complex fluids by segregating the individual contributions of each component of the colloidal system.

Even though there are quite large studies on wettability of aqueous surfactants and a few studies on effects of nanoparticles on wettability of colloids, to the best of authors' knowledge, there is no study reported on the combined effect of surfactant and nanoparticles in altering the wettability. The present study, for the first time, reports an extensive experimental and theoretical study on the combined effect of surfactants and nanoparticles on the wettability of complex fluids such as nanocolloids on different substrates, ranging from hydrophilic with a predominantly polar surface energy component (silicon wafer and glass) to near hydrophobic range with a predominantly dispersive component of surface energy (aluminum and copper substrates). Systematically planned experiments are carried out to segregate the contributing effects of surfactants, particles, and combined particle and surfactants in modulating the wettability. The mechanisms and the governing parameters behind the interactions of nanocolloids alone and of surfactant capped nanocolloids with different surfaces are found to be grossly different. The article, for the first time, also analyzes the interplay of the nature of surfaces, surfactant and particle concentrations on contact angle, and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) of particle and surfactant impregnated colloidal suspensions. In the case of nanoparticle suspensions, the contact angle is observed to decrease for the hydrophobic system and increase for the hydrophilic systems considered. On the contrary, the combined particle and surfactant colloidal system shows a quasi-unique wetting behavior of decreasing contact angle with particle concentration on all substrates. Also interestingly, the combined particle surfactant system at all particle concentrations shows a wetting angle much lower than that of the only-surfactant case at the same surfactant concentration. Such counterintuitive observations have been explained based on the near-surface interactivity of the particle, fluid, and surfactant molecules based on effective slip length considerations. The CAH analyses of colloidal suspensions at varying surfactant and particle concentrations reveal in-depth physical insight into contact line pinning, and a unique novel relationship is established between the contact angle and differential energy for distorting the instantaneous contact angle for a pinned sessile droplet. A detailed theoretical analysis of the governing parameters influencing the wettability has been presented invoking the principles of DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek), surface energy and interaction parameters influencing at the molecular scale, and the theoretical framework is found to support the experimental observations.

In recent years, the biomimetic superhydrophobic coatings have received tremendous attention, owing to their potential in fabricating self-cleaning surfaces, in environmental applications. Consequently, extensive research has been devoted to create a superhydrophobic surface using the oxidized derivatives of CNTs and graphene. Thus, the design and development of a self-cleaning/superhydrophobic surface with good biocompatibility are an effective approach to deal with the bacterial infections related to biomedical devices used in hospitals. In this context, herein, we have developed the material based on ionic liquid (IL)-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for hydrophobic coatings, which was fully characterized with various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared, powder X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. We have evaluated the synthesized ILs for their antibacterial potential against the pathogenic bacterial strains such as Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains. Further, atomic force and scanning electron microscopic studies have been performed to investigate the morphological changes to unravel the mechanism of action, whereas DNA binding study indicates the binding of IL-1d@MWCNT with DNA (K a = 2.390 × 104 M–1). Furthermore, the developed material (IL-1d@MWCNT) is coated onto the surface of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and evaluated for hydrophobicity through water contact angle measurements and possesses long-term antibacterial efficiency against both under-investigating pathogenic strains. For the biocompatibility assay, the obtained coated PVC material has also been evaluated for its cytotoxicity, and results reveal no toxicity against viable cells. These all results are taken together, indicating that by coating with the developed material IL-1d@MWCNT, a robust self-sterilizing surface has achieved, which helps in maintaining a bacteria-free surface.

An experimental investigation is performed to relate the wetting behavior of unsized and carbon nanotube (CNT) grafted carbon fibers to the average mechanical properties of unsized and CNT grafted carbon fiber/polymer multiscale composites. Contact angle measurements and single fiber pull out tests show that the choice of polymer matrix plays a crucial role in determining whether the incorporation of CNTs on the fiber surface enhances or degrades the wettability and hence average mechanical properties of carbon fiber/polymer composites. CNT grafting leads to a significant improvement in interfacial shear strength as well as flexural and tensile response of carbon fiber/polymer composites with the epoxy resin. However, incorporation of CNTs on fiber surface has no significant effect on the average mechanical properties of carbon fiber/polyester composites. Moreover, it is recorded that the relative enhancement in properties after CNT grafting depends on the fiber orientation in CNT grafted carbon fiber/epoxy composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E1184–E1195, 2018. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

A variety of complex and expensive techniques, which usually work efficiently in the visible range only, have been developed to make a near-perfect blackbody. In this work, novel hierarchical dandelion-like flower carbon nanostructure (FCNTs) are synthesized by using a two-step growth protocol. FCNTs show near-perfect absorption of ≥99.9% in the wavelength range of 300–2000 nm at varying beam angles (10° to 60°). Coupled with the emissivity of 0.98, FCNTs are qualified as one of the darkest artificial materials. The observed behavior originates from multiple scattering and subsequent trapping of incident beam inside the FCNT microstructure. The contact angle (172°) and roll-off angle (2°) of water droplets reveal the superhydrophobic and self-cleaning behavior of the fabricated surface. The combination of properties demonstrated by FCNTs are envisaged to be a significant step toward developing better materials for stray light absorption and a light trapping layer in a photovoltaic system.