Recent progress of bioinspired interfacial materials towards efficient and sustainable scale resistance

Graphene Oxide Inhibits Calcium Carbonate Nucleation

“…Mineral formation is ubiquitous in nature, industries, and daily life but sometimes highly undesirable because the deposits of low-thermal conductivity mineral scales, such as calcium carbonate, can greatly hinder heat/mass transfer, increasing energy consumption and even posing a serious threat to safety. 1,2 Therefore, how to prevent or reduce mineral scale formation is a critical issue. Typically, polymers rich in phosphoric and carboxylic groups are the two main types of conventional antiscalants because of their strong complexation with mineral ions and their adsorption to mineral scales.…”

“…Mineral formation is ubiquitous in nature, industries, and daily life but sometimes highly undesirable because the deposits of low-thermal conductivity mineral scales, such as calcium carbonate, can greatly hinder heat/mass transfer, increasing energy consumption and even posing a serious threat to safety. , Therefore, how to prevent or reduce mineral scale formation is a critical issue. Typically, polymers rich in phosphoric and carboxylic groups are the two main types of conventional antiscalants because of their strong complexation with mineral ions and their adsorption to mineral scales. − Therein, poly­(phosphonate) antiscalants tend to be phased out due to the contamination of phosphorus-containing wastewater to water resources. , Therefore, at the moment, poly­(carboxylate) antiscalants are intensively investigated for scale inhibition performance improvement. , For example, based on modifying the structure of linear polycarboxylates, some branched and cyclic structures were found to be better in antiscaling − because the specific structure and stereochemistry might offer steric hindrance toward scaling ion combination and suitable coordination mode between the antiscalant ligand and scaling ion for antiscalants’ binding on the scale crystal plane and thus affecting scale crystal formation. ,, However, the rough featurebranched/cyclic structureis not a definite indicator for a good antiscalant because reports show that a subtle molecular structure change can bring a sharp difference in the scale inhibition effect. , Actually, the structure–activity relationship of antiscalants is complicated, requiring insights into the scale inhibition mechanisms, while the current understanding of scale inhibition mechanisms is far from satisfactory, , impeding the design of high-performance antiscalants.…”

Light‐Responsive Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)‐Based Liquid‐Like Coating for Sustainable Scale Resistance

“…Alternatively, surface coatings that can prevent the formation of scale at the substrate‐liquid interface are highly attractive in anti‐scaling applications due to their advantages of simple preparation, low cost, and environmental friendliness compared to traditional anti‐scaling technologies. [ 8–12 ]…”

“…Alternatively, surface coatings that can prevent the formation of scale at the substrateliquid interface are highly attractive in anti-scaling applications due to their advantages of simple preparation, low cost, and environmental friendliness compared to traditional anti-scaling technologies. [8][9][10][11][12] Various types of anti-scaling surfaces have been developed, such as lubricantimpregnated surfaces, [13,14] fluorocarbon coatings, [15] and liquid-like coatings. [16,17] Lubricant-impregnated surfaces utilize an oily lubricant infused into a porous substrate to hinder scale nucleation.…”