School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
College of Metrology and Measurement Engineering, China Jiliang University, Xueyuan Street 258, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, PR China.
Lab Chip. 2021 Apr 20;21(8):1517-1526. doi: 10.1039/d0lc01298j.
Anisotropic microparticles containing functional nanomaterials have attracted growing interest due to their enhanced performance in diverse applications ranging from catalysts to environmental remediation. However, the preparation of anisotropic microparticles with highly controlled morphologies and dimensions usually suffers from a limited material choice. Here, we develop a facile strategy to continuously prepare anisotropic microparticles with their shapes changing from spherical to pear-like, maraca-like and rod-like for enhanced water decontamination. Anisotropic microparticles are produced by deforming oil-droplet templates within microfibers and then locking their shapes via thermo/photo-polymerization. The sizes and geometries of the oil-droplet templates are precisely controlled by varying the fluid flow conditions. In addition, porous spherical and rod-like microparticles are functionalized for photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants by incorporating functional TiO2 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Compared to spherical microparticles with equal volume, functionalized rod-like microparticles exhibit better performance in removal of contaminants due to their larger specific surface area, which facilitates the contact between the loaded catalysts and organic pollutants. Moreover, the magnetic rod-like microparticles can be easily recovered and reused without deterioration of catalytic performance. The proposed strategy in this study is useful for producing anisotropic microparticles with well-tailored shapes via different polymerization methods and extending their potential applications.
由于在从催化剂到环境修复等各种应用中具有增强的性能，因此含有功能纳米材料的各向异性微球引起了越来越多的关注。然而，具有高度可控形态和尺寸的各向异性微球的制备通常受到材料选择有限的限制。在这里，我们开发了一种简便的策略，可连续制备各向异性微球，其形状从球形变为梨形、酒椰形和棒形，以增强水的净化。通过在微纤维内变形油滴模板并通过热/光聚合来锁定其形状来生产各向异性微球。通过改变流体流动条件，可以精确控制油滴模板的尺寸和几何形状。此外，通过掺入功能性 TiO2 和 Fe3O4 纳米颗粒，对多孔球形和棒状微球进行功能化，以用于光催化降解有机污染物。与具有相等体积的球形微球相比，由于功能化的棒状微球具有更大的比表面积，因此在去除污染物方面表现出更好的性能，这有利于负载的催化剂与有机污染物之间的接触。此外，磁性棒状微球可以很容易地回收和重复使用，而不会降低催化性能。本研究中提出的策略可用于通过不同的聚合方法生产具有良好定制形状的各向异性微球，并扩展其潜在应用。
