The use of toxic components and short longevity greatly restricted the commercial application of superhydrophobic surfaces in oil−water separation, antifouling, and self-cleaning. To address these concerns, a durable, robust, and fluorine-free superhydrophobic fabric is prepared on account of inspiration of nature. In this work, submicrometer-sized silica particles with different particle sizes are deposited onto cotton fabrics, followed by hydrophobic modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), and consequently bonded the substrate and coating via powerful covalent bonds through a simple dip-coating technique. The rough surface with an imitated lotus-leaf-like hierarchical protrusion structure is constructed by deposited submicrometer-sized particles with different particle sizes, while the fabric with a low surface energy is achieved by the hydrophobic modification of PDMS. Ultimately, the fabricated fabric exhibits extraordinary superhydrophobicity with a high water contact angle (WCA) of 161°and a small sliding hysteresis angle (SHA) of 2.4°. Besides, considerable mechanical stability to withstand 130 sandpaper abrasion cycles and 40 washing cycles, and chemical resistance with sustained superhydrophobic property in various harsh environments (e.g., boiling water, strong acid/base solutions, and various organic solvents), are presented. Moreover, higher than 90% separation efficiency with a contact angle >150 °is produced even after 50 cycles when the fabricated fabric serves as a filter during the oil−water separation besides its outstanding staining resistance and self-cleaning property.
Incorporating zero-energy-input cooling technology into personal thermal management (PTM) systems is a promising solution for preventing heatrelated illnesses while reducing energy consumption. Although concepts for passive radiative cooling materials are proposed, achieving subambient cooling performance while providing good wearing comfort remains a challenge. Here, a moisture-wicking nonwoven metafabric is reported that assembles radiative cooling and evaporative heat dissipation to achieve high-performance thermal and moisture comfort management. This metafabric demonstrates excellent spectral-selectivity (sunlight reflection of ≈92%, atmospheric window thermal emissivity of ≈97%) and Janus wettability through large-scale electrospinning and hierarchical design, and also inherits superior elasticity, air/moisture permeability of nonwoven fabric. Subambient temperature drops of ≈6.5 °C (≈750 W m −2 solar intensity) for stand-alone metafabric are observed. Thanks to the moisture-wicking effect (water evaporation rate of 0.31 g h −1 and water transport index of 1220%) of metafabric that enables fast evaporation of sweat, a maximum generation of 1 mL h −1 of sweat can cool the skin, thus reducing the excessive sweating risk after intense exercise. Additionally, the cooling performance of metafabric can be regulated by applying various strains (0-100%). The cost-efficiency and good wearability of metafabric provide an innovative way to sustainable energy, smart textiles, and thermal wet comfort applications.
In
this work, metal–organic framework (MOF)-structured porous
ZnCo2O4/C composite nanofibers are prepared
by electrospinning, followed by in situ growth and annealing. The
ZnCo2O4/C nanofibers exhibit features such as
robust pores, high specific surface area (148.7 m2·g–1), and nanofiber structure, enabling excellent capacity
performance, cycle stability, and rate capabilities as anode in lithium-ion
batteries (LIBs). Briefly, specific discharge capacities of 1707 and
1145 mAh·g–1 are delivered for initial and
after 100 cycles, respectively, and even restraining a specific capacity
of 701 mAh·g–1 at 1.0 A·g–1. The excellent electrochemical properties of MOFs-ZnCo2O4/C composite nanofibers are mainly attributed to the
following reasons: (i) the abundant channels for lithium-ion intercalation/de-intercalation
offered by the MOF structure; (ii) the alleviated volume expansion
during the charge/discharge process owing to the intrinsic stability
of the one-dimensional (1D) fiber; and (iii) the carbon fiber with
excellent conductivity enables efficient conduction efficiency of
lithium ions and electrons. Capacity fading is significantly improved,
and the proposed strategy offers a perspective to improve electrochemical
performance in energy storage.
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