Qu Mengnan, Ma Lili, Wang Jiaxin, Zhang Yi, Zhao Yu, Zhou Yichen, Liu Xiangrong, He Jinmei
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , Xi'an University of Science and Technology , Xi'an 710054 , China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Jul 10;11(27):24668-24682. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b03721. Epub 2019 Jun 27.
Developing multifunctional superwettable materials is highly demanded in the oil/water separation field but remains challenging due to the critical limitations of complex fabrication strategy and high cost. Herein, based on the cost-effective kaolin nanoparticles, we present a convenient and mild strategy for fabricating a smart superwettable material with multiple excellent performances, such as pH-responsive water wettability, self-cleaning property, favorable buoyancy, and air purification performance. By virtue of the dual rough surface structure and special chemical composition, the resultant material surface exhibits a superior pH-dependent wettability, which can be reversibly switched between superamphiphobicity and superhydrophilicity-superoleophobicity for many times in accordance with the pH value of the corresponding aqueous solution. As a result, the obtained superwettable material with reversible and controllable water wettability can be applied in efficient and continuous separation of multiple types of oil/water mixtures, especially the highly emulsified oil/water emulsions, via in situ or ex situ wettability change. To our knowledge, the smart material with the wetting property of superamphiphobicity that can be used for continuous emulsified wastewater purification has been rarely discussed in the emerging research works. In addition, the as-prepared material presents universal applicability to diversiform substrates and exhibits robust durability and stability against high-concentration salt solutions and rigorous mechanical abrasion. All of these above-mentioned advantages indicate that the as-prepared superwettable material will hold great potential in various practical applications, including oily wastewater remediation, smart aquatic device fabrication, liquid droplet manipulation, guiding liquid movement, and optimizing multiple operations in industrial fields.
在油水分离领域，开发多功能超润湿性材料的需求极为迫切，但由于复杂的制备策略和高成本等关键限制，这一过程仍具有挑战性。在此，基于具有成本效益的高岭土纳米颗粒，我们提出了一种简便温和的策略来制备具有多种优异性能的智能超润湿性材料，如pH响应性水润湿性、自清洁性能、良好的浮力和空气净化性能。凭借双重粗糙表面结构和特殊化学成分，所得材料表面呈现出优异的pH依赖性润湿性，可根据相应水溶液的pH值在超疏水性和超亲水性-超疏油性之间多次可逆切换。因此，所获得的具有可逆且可控水润湿性的超润湿性材料可通过原位或异位润湿性变化应用于多种类型油/水混合物的高效连续分离，特别是高度乳化的油/水乳液。据我们所知，在新兴研究工作中，很少讨论具有可用于连续乳化废水净化的超疏水性润湿性的智能材料。此外，所制备的材料对多种基材具有普遍适用性，并且对高浓度盐溶液和严格的机械磨损表现出强大的耐久性和稳定性。上述所有优点表明，所制备的超润湿性材料在各种实际应用中具有巨大潜力，包括含油废水修复、智能水生设备制造、液滴操纵、引导液体流动以及优化工业领域的多种操作。
