Flexible Slippery Surface to Manipulate Droplet Coalescence and Sliding, and Its Practicability in Wind-Resistant Water Collection

Yuanfeng Wang, Baitai Qian, Chuilin Lai, Xiaowen Wang, Kaikai Ma, Yujuan Guo, Xingli Zhu, Bin Fei, John Haozhong Xin

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A flexible slippery membrane (FSM) with tunable morphology and high elastic deformability has been developed by infusing perfluoropolyether (PFPE) into a fluorinated-copolymer-modified thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiberous membrane. To immobilize PFPE in TPU matrix, we synthesized a fluorinated-copolymer poly(DFMA-co-IBOA-co-LMA) with low surface energy, high chemical affinity to PFPE, adequate flexibility, and strong physical adhesion on TPU. Upon external tensile stress, the as-prepared FSM can realize a real-time manipulation of water sliding and coalescence on it. Furthermore, it exhibits the ability to preserve the captured water from being blown away by strong wind, which ensures the water collection efficiency in windy regions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24428-24432
Number of pages5
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume9
Issue number29
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jul 2017

Keywords

  • droplet coalescence
  • flexible
  • nanofibers
  • slippery surface
  • water collection
  • wind-resistant

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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