Ultrastretchable and conductive core/sheath hydrogel fibers with multifunctionality

Conductive hydrogels with ionic compounds possess great potential for the development of soft smart devices. A dielectric scarfskin is typically required for these devices to prevent short circuiting, leading to devices with lower stretchability than the hydrogel. Henceforth, commonly used dielectric materials, such as PDMS and Ecoflex, cannot be largely stretched. Hydrogel devices with ultrastretchability are required to accommodate hostile application environments. Herein, we propose a hydrogel fiber coated with a dielectric layer that can be stretched to over 2000% of its initial length. The fiber remains conductive when stretched to ~1300%. In addition, the core/sheath hydrogel fiber can be endowed with a variety of functional properties, such as electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), and magnetic‐responsiveness, demonstrating scalability of the resultant fiber. The present work can pave the way for numerous next‐generation soft devices, such as smart textiles and wearable electronics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 272–280     

Temperature‐dependent phase‐segregation behavior and antifouling performance of UV‐curable methacrylated PDMS/PEG coatings

Controllable phase segregation adjustment for immiscible polymer blends has always been tough, which hinders the development of amphiphilic antifouling coatings from more accessible blends. Herein, methacrylated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS‐MA) was synthesized and mixed with poly(ethylene glycol)methylether methacrylate (PEG‐MA). It was interestingly discovered that these PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends displayed upper critical solution temperatures (UCST) due to thermo‐induced conformational change of PEG‐MA and the UCST changed with PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA mass ratios. Micro‐/nano‐phase segregation, nanophase segregation, or homogenous morphology were therefore achieved. These PDMS‐MA/PEG‐MA blends with different mass ratios were UV‐cured under varying temperatures to fabricate coatings. Their surface morphology and wettability are readily adjusted by phase segregation. For the first time, highly hydrophilic surface was achieved for coatings with microphase segregation because of the exposure of PEG‐rich domains, which exhibited an enhanced protein resistance against bovine serum albumin (BSA). Anti‐bacterial performance (Shewanella loihica) was also observed for these PDMS/PEG coatings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1612–1623     

Comparative analysis of shape memory-based self-healing coatings

Self-healing materials exhibit the ability to repair and to recover their functionality upon damage. Here, we report on an investigation into preparation and characterization of shape memory assisted self-healing coatings. We built on past work in which poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun fibers were infiltrated with a shape memory epoxy matrix and delve into fabricating and characterizing a coating with the same materials, but employing a blending approach, polymerization induced phase separation. After applying controlled damage, the ability of both coatings to self-heal upon heating was investigated. In both methods, coatings showed excellent thermally induced crack closure and protection against corrosion, with the blend approach being more suitable for large-scale applications given its process simplicity. Two different approaches to the preparation of shape memory-based self-healing coatings were compared for their ability to heal structurally and functionally by heating. These two approaches, electrospinning versus polymerization-induced phase separation were found to feature comparable and quite complete healing, with the latter system offering the advantage of facile processing. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1415–1426     

Interface and defects engineering for multilayer laser coatings

High-reflective multilayer laser coatings are widely used in advanced optical systems from high power laser facilities to high precision metrology systems. However, the real interface quality and defects will significantly affect absorption/scattering losses and laser induced damage thresholds of multilayer coatings. With the recent advances in the control of coating design and deposition processes, these coating properties can be significantly improved when properly engineered the interface and defects. This paper reviews the recent progress in the physics of laser damage, optical losses and environmental stability involved in multilayer reflective coatings for high power nanosecond near-infrared lasers. We first provide an overview of the layer growth mechanisms, ways to control the microstructures and reduce layer roughness, as well as the nature of defects which are critical to the optical loss and laser induced damage. Then an overview of interface engineering based on the design of coating structure and the regulation of deposition materials reveals their ability to improve the laser induced damage threshold, reduce the backscattering, and realize the desirable properties of environmental stability and exceptional multifunctionality. Moreover, we describe the recent progress in the laser damage and scattering mechanism of nodule defects and give the approaches to suppress the defect-induced damage and scattering of the multilayer laser coatings. Finally, the present challenges and limitations of high-performance multilayer laser coatings are highlighted, along with the comments on likely trends in future.     

基于无机纳米材料的抗菌抗病毒功能涂层和薄膜

COVID-19在全球的大流行对人类的健康生活和社会的正常运行都造成了严重的危害. 阻断致病微生物通过受污染表面与人类间接接触传播, 或者避免与其直接接触是保护我们免受伤害的主要方法. 目前的解决措施包括设计开发抗菌抗病毒表面涂层和研发由自清洁薄膜或织物制成的个人防护设备. 综述了近年来几种研究广泛的金属、金属氧化物、金属有机框架材料等用于抗菌抗病毒涂层或薄膜的工作, 对其作用机制和微生物灭活效果进行了总结讨论, 并且评估了其本身的毒性以及实际应用的局限性, 最后就抗菌抗病毒涂层和薄膜开发的挑战和新兴研究方向提出了未来展望.     

On the use of AES data analysis to determine local enrichments of conversion coating elements at intermetallic particles on rolled Al

In this paper, the behaviour of the industrial applied Ti/Zr conversion coating (CC) pretreatment on rolled automotive aluminium samples (AA5182) is analysed. Due to its nanometre lateral and depth resolution, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) is used to analyse the CC distribution at surface cathodic intermetallic particles. As a result of its high surface sensitivity, the AES technique is very susceptible to differences in the top contamination layer thickness. It is demonstrated that AES point measurements performed on aluminium model samples coated with 1.5 and 3 nm of Ti (oxide) layer cannot differentiate the two-layer thicknesses if a difference in the top contamination thickness is not taken into account. A data analysis methodology is introduced, based on the ratio of normalized peak areas (enrichment ratios), to eliminate the effect of the contamination layer thickness. The experimental validation of the methodology is performed on the model samples, demonstrating errors of 2% on the enrichment ratios on similar samples with different contamination layer thicknesses, while the conventional spectra quantification results in errors of 49%. The methodology is also theoretically substantiated within certain constraints. By the use of the AES methodology, an enriched Ti and Zr deposition is confirmed at the cathodic intermetallic particles at the surface of the industrial no-rinse CC sprayed automotive aluminium sheet samples.     

Preparation and performance of (Co,Mn)3O4 spinel coating on Crofer alloy by composite electrodeposition and step-heating thermal conversion

The preparation and performance improvement of the spinel coating on the surface of ferritic alloy is of wide interest for its application in the metallic interconnects of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The Co Mn₂O₃ composite coating is prepared on the surface of the Crofer alloy by the composite electrodeposition method. A step-heating thermal conversion process is subsequently used to convert the composite coating into a spinel coating, while a direct-heating process is implemented as the control experiment. Isothermal oxidation tests are then carried out for the prepared samples in order to present the high temperature performance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and area-specific resistance (ASR) are used to analyze the properties of the matrix and coatings. The experimental results reveal that the coatings by step-heating thermal conversion exhibit better performance of electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance than the coatings by direct-heating process. Furthermore, with the increase of oxidation time, the atomic proportion of Cr element diffusing to the surface of the matrix is maintained at about 3%–4% for the samples with spinel coatings by step heating, which effectively prevent the Cr volatilization in the matrix. The preparation of spinel coatings on the ferritic alloy by composite electrodeposition and step-heating thermal conversion is helpful to stimulate new ideas for the development of reliable and cost-effective metallic interconnect.     

Generation and characterization of air micro-bubbles in highly hydrophobic capillaries

The generation of air microbubbles in microfluidic systems or in capillaries could be of great interest for transportation (single cell analysis, organite transportation) or for liquid compartmentation. The physicochemical characterization of air bubbles and a better understanding of the process leading to bubble generation during electrophoresis is also interesting in a theoretical point of view. In this work, the generation of microbubbles on hydrophobic Glaco™ coated capillaries has been studied in water-based electrolyte. Air bubbles were generated at the detection window and the required experimental parameters for microbubbles generation have been identified. Generated bubbles migrated against the electroosmotic flow, as would do strongly negatively charged solutes, under constant electric field. They have been characterized in terms of dimensions, electrophoretic mobility, and apparent charge.