Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
07:32
Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
9.8K
Superwetting Patterned Membranes with an Anisotropy/Isotropy Transition: Towards Signal Expression and Liquid
Ruixiang Qu1, Xiangyu Li1, Yanan Liu1
1Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|May 6, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed novel superwetting membranes with tunable surface wettability. These advanced materials offer diverse functionalities beyond simple on/off transitions, enabling responsive liquid separation and signal expression.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Chemistry
Background:
- Superwetting membranes offer tunable surface wettability.
- Current limitations include a binary
- black-or-white
- wettability transition, restricting functional diversity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop multifunctional responsive superwetting membranes with adjustable surface patterns.
- To overcome the limitations of binary wettability transitions for enhanced functional diversity.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of superwetting membranes using SiO2/octadecylamine patterned coatings.
- Utilizing pH-responsive transitions in coated regions (superhydrophobicity/superhydrophilicity) and invariant superhydrophilicity in uncoated regions.
- Exploiting anisotropy/isotropy transitions for diverse applications.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated responsive separation and permeation of liquids with high efficiency (>99.90%) and flux (ca. 60 L m⁻² h).
- Achieved real-time liquid signal expression with alterable signals based on membrane properties.
- Successfully created membranes with anisotropic/isotropic wettability transitions.
Conclusions:
- The developed coating strategy enables multifunctional responsive superwetting membranes.
- Adjustable patterns are key to achieving functional diversity in wettability.
- These membranes show promise for advanced responsive separation and sensing applications.
Keywords:
liquid permeationmaterials scienceresponsive patternssignal expressionsuperwetting membranesMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Membrane Fluidity
171.3K
Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
171.3K
01:26Membrane Fluidity
14.2K
Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
14.2K