Dimensional stability of lotus leaf-like nanostructure superhydrophobic bamboo by modification using xylan

Abstract

Xylan extracted from corncobs was used to modify bamboo and to improve its dimensional stability. A lotus leaf-like surface was prepared on the modified bamboo using a fresh lotus leaf and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the template and seal via soft lithography. The dimensional stability of bamboo was tested via anti-shrinkage efficiency (ASE), moisture excluding efficiency (MEE), weight percent gain (WPG), and its superhydrophobic property. The microstructures of lotus-like bamboo surface were analyzed via water contact angle (WCA), scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The study found that with increasing mass fraction of xylan content, the anti-swelling property and WPG of modified bamboo increased accordingly. When the mass fraction of xylan was 10%, its WPG was the largest (2.21%), and xylan had a better compatibilization effect on bamboo. The dimensional stability of bamboo was improved to a certain extent by xylan. Moreover, the anisotropy and superhydrophobicity of the lotus leaf-like bamboo treated by xylan were noticeably improved after modification, such that the WCA of the transverse, radial, and tangential sections were 157.5º, 145.5º, and 137.5º, respectively. This research lays a foundation for studies of dimensional stability of bamboo and the mechanism of modification to achieve hydrophobic properties.

Recent development and emerging applications of robust biomimetic superhydrophobic wood

“…63 Gao et al prepared lotus leaf-like superhydrophobic coatings on xylan-modified bamboo surfaces by using fresh lotus leaves and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as templates and sealing via soft lithography. 64 As a result, the dimensional stability and superhydrophobic properties of the modified bamboo were significantly improved.…”

Study on Anti-Icing Performance of Biogas-Residue Nano-Carbon Coating for Wind-Turbine Blade

“…As indicated by the enlarged photograph in Figure 4e,f, this microstructure was an agglomeration of irregular carbon nanoparticles. The surface morphology of superhydrophobic nano-carbon coating's hierarchical micro-nano structures approximated that of a lotus leaf [34,35].…”

A nature-inspired strategy towards superhydrophobic wood

“…Generally, the preparation of superhydrophobic wood involves creating a rough structure on the wood surface by forming a layer of inorganic particles, followed by modication with low surface free energy compounds like 1H,1H,2H,2H-peruorodecanethiol (pfdt), octadecylamine (ODA), 1-dodecanethiol, etc. [27][28][29] The conventional construction methods for superhydrophobic wood mainly include gra copolymerization, 30 wet chemical methods(such as chemical vapor deposition, hydrothermal synthesis and sol-gel synthesis), [31][32][33] the template method 34 and surface coating methods(like dip coating and spraying). 35,36 However, most of these preparation methods are either complicated, costly, or utilize raw materials that are harmful to the environment.…”