Materials design towards sport textiles with low-friction and moisture-wicking dual functions

In the field of sportswear, the structure and morphology of textiles are of great importance to achieve good moisture transport and low friction, which are two critical comfort-related properties. To improve these properties, dual-layer nanofibrous nonwoven mats were studied in this work. Core–shell nanofibers with a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-rich core and a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-rich shell were fabricated by single-spinneret electrospinning and used as the inner layer of the dual-layer mats, while thick base-treated Cellulose Acetate (CA) nanofibrous mats were used as the outer layer. The core-located PAN and a small amount of PAN on the PAN/PVDF nanofiber surface ensure good moisture transport through the nanofibrous mats. The synergistic combination of a considerably hydrophobic PAN/PVDF inner layer and a highly hydrophilic CA outer layer induces a strong push–pull effect, resulting in efficient moisture transport from the inner to the outer layer. Furthermore, the fluorine-rich PVDF shell of the inner layer touches the human skin and provides a lubricating effect to enhance comfortability. This design provides a promising route for sports textiles with both good moisture-wicking and low friction

Tailoring surface hydrophilicity of porous electrospun nanofibers to enhance capillary and push-pull effects for moisture wicking

In this article, liquid moisture transport behaviors of dual-layer electrospun nanofibrous mats are reported for the first time. The dual-layer mats consist of a thick layer of hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with a thin layer of hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) nanofibers with and without interpenetrating nanopores, respectively. The mats are coated with polydopamine (PDOPA) to different extents to tailor the water wettability of the PS layer. It is found that with a large quantity of nanochannels, the porous PS nanofibers exhibit a stronger capillary effect than the solid PS nanofibers. The capillary motion in the porous PS nanofibers can be further enhanced by slight surface modification with PDOPA while retaining the large hydrophobicity difference between the two layers, inducing a strong push–pull effect to transport water from the PS to the PAN layer

MoS₂ Nanosheets Hosted in Polydopamine-Derived Mesoporous Carbon Nanofibers as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes: Enhanced MoS₂ Capacity Utilization and Underlying Mechanism

In this work, solid, hollow, and porous carbon nanofibers (SNFs, HNFs, and PNFs) were used as hosts to grow MoS₂ nanosheets hydrothermally. The results show that the nanosheets on the surface of SNFs and HNFs are comprised of a few grains stacked together, giving direct carbon–MoS₂ contact for the first grain and indirect contact for the rest. In contrast, the nanosheets inside of PNFs are of single-grain size and are distributed evenly in the mesopores of PNFs, providing efficient MoS₂–carbon contact. Furthermore, the nanosheets grown on the polydopamine-derived carbon surface of HNFs and PNFs have larger interlayer spacing than those grown on polyacrylonitrile-derived carbon surface. As a result, the MoS₂ nanosheets in PNFs possess the lowest charge-transfer resistance, the most accessible active sites for lithiation/delithiation, and can effectively buffer the volume variation of MoS₂, leading to its best electrochemical performance as a lithium-ion battery anode among the three. The normalized reversible capacity of the MoS₂ nanosheets in PNFs is about 1210 mAh g^–1 at 100 mA g^–1, showing the effective utilization of the electrochemical activity of MoS₂

Stable Superhydrophobic Porous Coatings from Hybrid ABC Triblock Copolymers and Their Anticorrosive Performance

Superhydrophobic porous surfaces with ultralow water adhesion were successfully fabricated via micelle fusion–aggregation assembly of newly designed linear hybrid ABC triblock copolymers, where A, B, and C denote poly­(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), polystyrene (PS), and poly­(methacrylolsobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) (PiBuPOSSMA), respectively. It was found that aggregation behavior in diluted solution and subsequent formation of nano-/microscale hierarchical surfaces in condensed state were affected by the molar mass of the triblock copolymers, which were evidenced by dynamic light scattering (DLS), SEM, and TEM studies. Increasing of PiBuPOSSMA content can significantly increase roughness of the resulting coatings, leading to an increase of apparent water contact angles from 145.7 ± 1° to 157.3 ± 1.1°. The optimized PDMS–PS–PiBuPOSSMA surface possesses unique nano/microscale hierarchical morphology, large apparent water contact angle (157.3 ± 1.1°), small roll-off angle (∼3°), low contact angle hysteresis (∼0.9°), long-term stability, and good chemical and thermal resistance. Moreover, it exhibits superior performance in preventing corrosive species such as ions and water in contact with the underlying metallic substrate (stainless steel) in 3.5 wt % NaCl aqueous solution with high inhibition efficiency and long-term preservability, which could be attributed to the synergistic effect of superhydrophobic surface and capillary action arising from the underlying porous structure

Tailoring Surface Hydrophilicity of Porous Electrospun Nanofibers to Enhance Capillary and Push–Pull Effects for Moisture Wicking

In this article, liquid moisture transport behaviors of dual-layer electrospun nanofibrous mats are reported for the first time. The dual-layer mats consist of a thick layer of hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with a thin layer of hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) nanofibers with and without interpenetrating nanopores, respectively. The mats are coated with polydopamine (PDOPA) to different extents to tailor the water wettability of the PS layer. It is found that with a large quantity of nanochannels, the porous PS nanofibers exhibit a stronger capillary effect than the solid PS nanofibers. The capillary motion in the porous PS nanofibers can be further enhanced by slight surface modification with PDOPA while retaining the large hydrophobicity difference between the two layers, inducing a strong push–pull effect to transport water from the PS to the PAN layer

Thin MoS₂ Nanoflakes Encapsulated in Carbon Nanofibers as High-Performance Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, highly flexible MoS₂-based lithium-ion battery anodes composed of disordered thin MoS₂ nanoflakes encapsulated in amorphous carbon nanofibrous mats were fabricated for the first time through hydrothermal synthesis of graphene-like MoS₂, followed by electrospinning and carbonization. X-ray diffraction as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopic studies show that the as-synthesized MoS₂ nanoflakes have a thickness of about 5 nm with an expanded interlayer spacing, and their structure and morphology are well-retained after the electrospinning and carbonization. At relatively low MoS₂ contents, the nanoflakes are dispersed and well-embedded in the carbon nanofibers. Consequently, excellent electrochemical performance, including good cyclability and high rate capacity, was achieved with the hybrid nanofibrous mat at the MoS₂ content of 47%, which may be attributed to the fine thickness and multilayered structure of the MoS₂ sheets with an expanded interlayer spacing, the good charge conduction provided by the high-aspect-ratio carbon nanofibers, and the robustness of the nanofibrous mat

Self-Assembly-Induced Alternately Stacked Single-Layer MoS₂ and N‑doped Graphene: A Novel van der Waals Heterostructure for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this article, a simple self-assembly strategy for fabricating van der Waals heterostructures from isolated two-dimensional atomic crystals is presented. Specifically, dopamine (DOPA), an excellent self-assembly agent and carbon precursor, was adsorbed on exfoliated MoS₂ monolayers through electrostatic interaction, and the surface-modified monolayers self-assembled spontaneously into DOPA-intercalated MoS₂. The subsequent in situ conversion of DOPA to highly conductive nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) in the interlayer space of MoS₂ led to the formation of a novel NDG/MoS₂ nanocomposite with well-defined alternating structure. The NDG/MoS₂ was then studied as an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The results show that alternating arrangement of NDG and MoS₂ triggers synergistic effect between the two components. The kinetics and cycle life of the anode are greatly improved due to the enhanced electron and Li⁺ transport as well as the effective immobilization of soluble polysulfide by NDG. A reversible capacity of more than 460 mAh/g could be delivered even at 5 A/g. Moreover, the abundant voids created at the MoS₂–NDG interface also accommodate the volume change during cycling and provide additional active sites for Li⁺ storage. These endow the NDG/MoS₂ heterostructure with low charge-transfer resistance, high sulfur reservation, and structural robustness, rendering it an advanced anode material for LIBs

One-Pot Synthesis of Fe(III)–Polydopamine Complex Nanospheres: Morphological Evolution, Mechanism, and Application of the Carbonized Hybrid Nanospheres in Catalysis and Zn–Air Battery

We report one-pot synthesis of Fe­(III)–polydopamine (PDA) complex nanospheres, their structures, morphology evolution, and underlying mechanism. The complex nanospheres were synthesized by introducing ferric ions into the reaction mixture used for polymerization of dopamine. It is verified that both the oxidative polymerization of dopamine and Fe­(III)–PDA complexation contribute to the “polymerization” process, in which the ferric ions form coordination bonds with both oxygen and nitrogen, as indicated by X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy. In the “polymerization” process, the morphology of the complex nanostructures is gradually transformed from sheetlike to spherical at the feed Fe­(III)/dopamine molar ratio of 1/3. The final size of the complex spheres is much smaller than its neat PDA counterpart. At higher feed Fe­(III)/dopamine molar ratios, the final morphology of the “polymerization” products is sheetlike. The results suggest that the formation of spherical morphology is likely to be driven by covalent polymerization-induced decrease of hydrophilic functional groups, which causes reself-assembly of the PDA oligomers to reduce surface area. We also demonstrate that this one-pot synthesis route for hybrid nanospheres enables the facile construction of carbonized PDA (C-PDA) nanospheres uniformly embedded with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles of only 3–5 nm in size. The C-PDA/Fe₃O₄ nanospheres exhibit catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction and deliver a stable discharge voltage for over 200 h when utilized as the cathode in a primary Zn–air battery and are also good recyclable catalyst supports

Additional file 1 of Far-red light modulates grapevine growth by increasing leaf photosynthesis efficiency and triggering organ-specific transcriptome remodelling

Supplementary Material