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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Stretching Micropatterned Cells on a PDMS Membrane
Published on: January 22, 2014
A robust and stretchable superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane for oil/water separation and flame retardancy
Deke Li1, Xuelian Gou, Daheng Wu
1State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China. zguo@licp.cas.cn.
Abstract:
The wide application of superhydrophobic membranes has been limited due to their complicated preparation technology and weak durability. Inspired by the mechanical flexibility of nanofibrous biomaterials, nanofibrils have been successfully generated from Kevlar, which is one of the strongest synthetic fibers, by appropriate hydrothermal treatment. In this study, a robust superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane is prepared via a simple one-step process and subsequent curing without combination with inorganic fillers. The as-prepared PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane not only shows efficient oil/water separation ability and oil absorption capacity but also has excellent superhydrophobicity stability after deformation. The resultant membrane shows stretchability, flexibility and flame retardance because of the reinforcing effect and the excellent flame retardancy of Kevlar. We believe that this simple fabrication of PDMS/PVDF@KNFs has promising applications in filtering membranes and wearable devices.
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