Strong Hydrophobic Coating by Conducting a New Hierarchical Architecture

While the hydrophobicity for a self-cleaning surface is feasibly obtained via rational designs of nanostructured materials,^1‑2 the longevity of coatings due to the rapid function loss and weak interface bonding and the scalability due to the limited size are not on a solid footing.³ In this article, we report the synthesis of flexible self-cleaning coating with improved mechanical and chemical stability on the basis of a new hierarchical architecture, which comprises functionalized epoxy (EP) resins and industrially available activated carbons. In parallel, a self-cleaning coating with high transparency can be obtained by replacing with oxide particles, which further expands the application fields. The strong bonding force from alkene CH₃–C–CH₃ and phenyl groups in bisphenol A diglycidyl ether contributes to high rigidity, high toughness, and high-temperature tolerance while the ether linkages lead to high chemical resistance.⁴ A greatly enhanced adhesion to substrates originates from the preferable interface ring-opening reaction of highly reactive ethylene oxide C₂H₄O on EP and amine groups on curing agents. Superhydrophobicity is ascribed to the interaction among hydrophobic groups on “grafted” heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and functionalized particles. The impressive hydrophobic and mechanical properties open an avenue for a reliable self-cleaning coating in commercial products

Strong Hydrophobic Coating by Conducting a New Hierarchical Architecture

While the hydrophobicity for a self-cleaning surface is feasibly obtained via rational designs of nanostructured materials,^1‑2 the longevity of coatings due to the rapid function loss and weak interface bonding and the scalability due to the limited size are not on a solid footing.³ In this article, we report the synthesis of flexible self-cleaning coating with improved mechanical and chemical stability on the basis of a new hierarchical architecture, which comprises functionalized epoxy (EP) resins and industrially available activated carbons. In parallel, a self-cleaning coating with high transparency can be obtained by replacing with oxide particles, which further expands the application fields. The strong bonding force from alkene CH₃–C–CH₃ and phenyl groups in bisphenol A diglycidyl ether contributes to high rigidity, high toughness, and high-temperature tolerance while the ether linkages lead to high chemical resistance.⁴ A greatly enhanced adhesion to substrates originates from the preferable interface ring-opening reaction of highly reactive ethylene oxide C₂H₄O on EP and amine groups on curing agents. Superhydrophobicity is ascribed to the interaction among hydrophobic groups on “grafted” heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and functionalized particles. The impressive hydrophobic and mechanical properties open an avenue for a reliable self-cleaning coating in commercial products

Strong Hydrophobic Coating by Conducting a New Hierarchical Architecture

While the hydrophobicity for a self-cleaning surface is feasibly obtained via rational designs of nanostructured materials,^1‑2 the longevity of coatings due to the rapid function loss and weak interface bonding and the scalability due to the limited size are not on a solid footing.³ In this article, we report the synthesis of flexible self-cleaning coating with improved mechanical and chemical stability on the basis of a new hierarchical architecture, which comprises functionalized epoxy (EP) resins and industrially available activated carbons. In parallel, a self-cleaning coating with high transparency can be obtained by replacing with oxide particles, which further expands the application fields. The strong bonding force from alkene CH₃–C–CH₃ and phenyl groups in bisphenol A diglycidyl ether contributes to high rigidity, high toughness, and high-temperature tolerance while the ether linkages lead to high chemical resistance.⁴ A greatly enhanced adhesion to substrates originates from the preferable interface ring-opening reaction of highly reactive ethylene oxide C₂H₄O on EP and amine groups on curing agents. Superhydrophobicity is ascribed to the interaction among hydrophobic groups on “grafted” heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and functionalized particles. The impressive hydrophobic and mechanical properties open an avenue for a reliable self-cleaning coating in commercial products

Strong Hydrophobic Coating by Conducting a New Hierarchical Architecture

While the hydrophobicity for a self-cleaning surface is feasibly obtained via rational designs of nanostructured materials,^1‑2 the longevity of coatings due to the rapid function loss and weak interface bonding and the scalability due to the limited size are not on a solid footing.³ In this article, we report the synthesis of flexible self-cleaning coating with improved mechanical and chemical stability on the basis of a new hierarchical architecture, which comprises functionalized epoxy (EP) resins and industrially available activated carbons. In parallel, a self-cleaning coating with high transparency can be obtained by replacing with oxide particles, which further expands the application fields. The strong bonding force from alkene CH₃–C–CH₃ and phenyl groups in bisphenol A diglycidyl ether contributes to high rigidity, high toughness, and high-temperature tolerance while the ether linkages lead to high chemical resistance.⁴ A greatly enhanced adhesion to substrates originates from the preferable interface ring-opening reaction of highly reactive ethylene oxide C₂H₄O on EP and amine groups on curing agents. Superhydrophobicity is ascribed to the interaction among hydrophobic groups on “grafted” heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and functionalized particles. The impressive hydrophobic and mechanical properties open an avenue for a reliable self-cleaning coating in commercial products

Shape- and Composition-Sensitive Activity of Pt and PtAu Catalysts for Formic Acid Electrooxidation

In this work, we have probed the shape- and composition-dependent activities of Pt and PtAu catalysts for formic acid electrooxidation. Pt-based hollow nanostructures such as Pt hollow nanospheres (Pt HNSs), Pt nanotubes (Pt NTs), and PtAu alloy nanotubes (PtAu NTs) with controlled Pt:Au compositions are successfully prepared via a galvanic replacement process using sacrificial Ag templates. The physicochemical properties of these Pt and PtAu catalysts are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The electrochemical activities of these hollow structured catalysts are compared for formic acid oxidation by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry methods. Relative to the commercial Pt black and Pt/C nanoparticle catalysts, the hollow nanostructured Pt materials (Pt HNS, Pt NT) exhibit enhanced catalytic activities due to structural effects. Moreover, the bimetallic PtAu NT series shows improved catalytic activities over the monometallic Pt catalysts due to compositional effects. The present study demonstrates that the catalytic activity and the extent of surface poisoning are strongly dependent on both the structural and compositional variations of the nanostructured electrocatalysts, as shown by a systemically prepared series of nanostructured catalysts for formic acid oxidation

Harvesting Interconductivity and Intraconductivity of Graphene Nanoribbons for a Directly Deposited, High-Rate Silicon-Based Anode for Li-Ion Batteries

Batteries for high-rate applications such as electric vehicles need to be efficient at mobilizing charges (both electrons and ions). To this end, choice of the conductive carbon in the electrode can make a significant difference in the performance of the electrode. In this work, graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are explored as conductive pathways for a silicon-based anode. Water-based electrospinning is employed to directly deposit poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)–silicon–graphene nanoribbon composite fibers on a copper current collector. The size of the employed GNRs dictates their placement: either inside each fiber (small GNRs) or as a bridge between multiple fibers (large GNRs). Galvanostatic charge/discharge cycles reveal that fibers with GNRs have higher capacity and overall retention compared to those with corresponding precursor carbon nanotubes (CNTs). To further distinguish the effectiveness of GNRs as the conductive agent, samples with two GNRs and their parent CNTs were subject to rate-capability tests. Fibers with large GNR inclusions exhibit an excellent performance at fast rates (1400 mAh g^–1 at 12.6 A g^–1). For both pairs, enhancement in the performance of GNRs over CNTs grows with increasing rates. Finally, a small amount of large GNRs (1 wt %) is blended with small GNRs in the fibers to create synergy between intra- and interconductivity provided by small and large GNRs, respectively. The resulting fiber mat exhibits the same capacity as that of only small GNRs, even at a current rate that is 4 times higher (300 mAh g^–1 at 21 A g^–1)