Long‐Term Super‐Amphiphilic Shaped‐Fiber with Multi‐Scale Grooved Structures: Toward Spontaneous Self‐Cleaning. (16th June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Bojie; He, Meijin; Tang, Zhongxue; Jiang, Lei; Liu, Huan
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 31:Number 33(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2021-06-16
• Subjects: grooved structures -- liquid spreading -- self‐cleaning -- shaped‐fibers -- super‐amphiphilic; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202102877
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: Despite long‐term exposure to the ambient environment, fabrics made of bamboo fibers enable spontaneous self‐cleaning of oil contaminants without using any surfactant. Here, it is revealed that the long‐term stable super‐amphiphilicity of bamboo fibers is responsible for self‐cleaning behavior. Liquids of both water and oil are liable to super‐spread on bamboo fibers, driven by multi‐scaled capillary forces imparted by the unique shaped fibrous structures with multi‐scale hierarchical ridges/grooves. Based on the minimization of free energy, the pre‐wetted oils can be easily removed away by forming the water film, reaching the spontaneous self‐cleaning. Notably, the super‐amphiphilicity induced by the structure shows better long‐term stability compared with that endowed by chemical modification. It is demonstrated that the bio‐inspired artificial counterpart also exhibits excellent self‐cleaning property, which inspires innovative self‐cleaning textures. Abstract : The spontaneous self‐cleaning of bamboo fabric is clarified, where the long‐term super‐amphiphilicity imparted by the unique multi‐scale grooved structures plays a key role. The super‐amphiphilicity derived from the structures shows better stability than that endowed by chemical modification. The artificial textured substrates also demonstrate excellent self‐cleaning performance, providing novel insights for designing long‐term stable self‐cleaning textures.