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 H Xin

doi:10.1021/acsami.7b06775

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

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Jul 26;9(29):24428-24432. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b06775. Epub 2017 Jul 17.

Authors

Yuanfeng Wang¹, Baitai Qian¹, Chuilin Lai¹, Xiaowen Wang¹, Kaikai Ma¹, Yujuan Guo¹, Xingli Zhu¹, Bin Fei¹, John H Xin¹

Affiliation

¹ Nanotechnology Centre, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University , Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.

PMID: 28699730
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06775

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.

Keywords: droplet coalescence; flexible; nanofibers; slippery surface; water collection; wind-resistant.