Spider-capture-silk mimicking fibers with high-performance fog collection derived from superhydrophilicity and volume-swelling of gelatin knots

Spider-capture-silk(SCS)can directionally capture and transport water from humid air relying on the unique geometrical structure.Although there have been adequate reports on the fabrication of artificial SCSs from petroleum-based materials,it remains a big challenge to innovate bio-based SCS mimicking fibers with high-performance fog collection ability and efficiency simultaneously.Herein,we report an eco-friendly and economical fiber system for water collection by coating gelatin on degummed silk.Compared to the previously reported fibers with the best fog collection ability(~13.10μL),Gelatin on silk fiber 10(GSF10)can collect larger water droplet(~16.70μL in 330 s)with~98%less mass.Meanwhile,the water collection efficiency of GSF10 demonstrates~72%and~48%enhancement to the existing best water collection polymer coated SCS fibers and spidroin eMaSp2 coated degummed silk respectively in terms of volume-to-TCL(vapor-liquid-solid three-phase contact line)index.The simultaneous function of superhydro-philicity,surface energy gradient,and~65%water-induced volume swelling of the gelatin knots are the key factors in advancing the water collection performance.Abundant availability of feedstocks and~75%improved space utiliza-tion guarantee the scalability and practical application of such bio-based fiber.

Mechanism Explanation of Influence of Dry Density and Water Content on Bentonite Swelling Process

The swelling process of bentonite is vital for judging the time required for completing the swelling,estimating the engineering safety,and organizing the construction plan.Many factors affect the swelling process,and the underlying mechanisms still require to be clearly explained.In this paper,the swelling process of commercial bentonite in different molar concentrations of salt solution was studied by the one-dimensional free swelling test and constant volume swelling pressure test.The curves of swelling over time were fitted using a hyperbolic model,and two parameters were extracted to reflect the swelling rate and the final swelling strain or swelling pressure quantitatively,respectively.The test results show that the final swelling strain or swelling pressure is determined by the swelling ability of the bentonite,while the swelling rate is influenced by the coupled effect of the swelling ability and permeability of soil.The mechanisms of different factors affecting the swelling process of bentonite are summarized as the effects on the permeability and swelling ability of the soil by considering the change process of pore structure during swelling.The proposed mechanism explanation can also reasonably explain the effect of initial water content in the existing literature.The influencing mechanism of the swelling process revealed in this paper from the perspective of pore structure provides a reasonable theoretical basis for analyzing the swelling process of bentonite.

Irradiation Behavior in High Entropy Alloys

As an increasing demand of advanced nuclear fission reactors and fusion facilities, the key requirements for the materials used in advanced nuclear systems should encompass superior high temperature property, good behavior in corrosive environment, and high irradiation resistance, etc. Recently, it was found that some selected high entropy alloys （HEAs） possess excellent mechanical properties at high temperature, high corrosion resistance, and no grain coarsening and self-healing abil- ity under irradiation, especially, the exceptional structural stability and lower irradiation-induced volume swelling, compared with other conventional materials. Thus, HEAs have been considered as the potential nuclear materials used for future fission or fusion reactors, which are designed to operate at higher temperatures and higher radiation doses up to several hundreds of displacement per atom （dpa）. An insight into the irradiation behavior of HEAs was given, including fundamental researches to investigate the irradiation-induced phase crystal structure change and volume swelling in HEAs. In summary, a brief overview of the irradiation behavior in HEAs was made and the irradiation-induced structural change in HEAs may be relatively insensi- tive because of their special structures.