Reduced graphene oxide aerogel decorated with Mo_(2)C nanoparticles toward multifunctional properties of hydrophobicity,thermal insulation and microwave absorption

Reduced graphene oxide(rGO)aerogels are emerging as very attractive scaffolds for high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption materials(EWAMs)due to their intrinsic conductive networks and intricate interior microstructure,as well as good compatibility with other electromagnetic(EM)components.Herein,we realized the decoration of rGO aerogel with Mo_(2)C nanoparticles by sequential hydrothermal assembly,freeze-drying,and high-temperature pyrolysis.Results show that Mo_(2)C nanoparticle loading can be easily controlled by the ammonium molybdate to glucose molar ratio.The hydrophobicity and thermal insulation of the rGO aerogel are effectively improved upon the introduction of Mo_(2)C nanoparticles,and more importantly,these nanoparticles regulate the EM properties of the rGO aerogel to a large extent.Although more Mo_(2)C nanoparticles may decrease the overall attenuation ability of the rGO aerogel,they bring much better impedance matching.At a molar ratio of 1:1,a desirable balance between attenuation ability and impedance matching is observed.In this context,the Mo_(2)C/r GO aerogel displays strong reflection loss and broad response bandwidth,even with a small applied thickness(1.7 mm)and low filler loading(9.0wt%).The positive effects of Mo_(2)C nanoparticles on multifunctional properties may render Mo_(2)C/r GO aerogels promising candidates for high-performance EWAMs under harsh conditions.

Temperature-induced hydrophobicity transition of MXene membrane for directly preparing W/O emulsions

Although hydrophilic membranes are desired for reducing resistance to water permeation, hydrophilic surfaces are not used in the water-in-oil(W/O) membrane emulsification process because water spreads on the hydrophilic surface without forming droplets. Here, we report that a hydrophilic ceramic membrane can form a hydrophobic interface in diesel at a higher temperature;interestingly, the experiments show that the contact angle increases when the temperature rises. The hydrophilic membrane surface evolves into a hydrophobic interface, particularly near the boiling point of water, resulting in a water contact angle of 147.5° ± 1.2°. This work established a method for preparing W/O monodispersed emulsions by direct emulsification of hydrophilic ceramic membranes at a temperature close to the boiling point of water.Additionally, it made high flux of membrane emulsification of monodispersed W/O emulsions possible,which satisfied the industrial requirements of fluidized catalytic cracking in the petrochemical industry.

Enhancing hydrophobicity via core-shell metal organic frameworks for high-humidity flue gas CO_(2) capture

Developing metal-organic framework(MOF)materials with the moisture-resistant feature is highly desirable for CO_(2)capture from highly humid flue gas.In this work,a new core-shell MOF@MOF composite using Mg-MOF-74 with high CO_(2)capture capacity as a functional core and hydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(ZIF-8)as a protective shell is fabricated by the epitaxial growth method.Experimental results show that the CO_(2)adsorption performance of the core-shell structured Mg-MOF-74@ZIF-8 composites from water-containing flue gas is enhanced along with their improved hydrophobicity.The dynamic breakthrough results show that the Mg-MOF-74@ZIF-8 with three assembled layers(Mg-MOF-74@ZIF-8-3)can capture 3.56 mmol-g^(-1)CO_(2)from wet CO_(2)/N_(2)(VCO_(2):V_(N_(2))=15:85)mixtures,which outperforms Mg-MOF-74(0.37 mmol·g^(-1))and most of the reported physisorbents.

Flame-retardant ammonium polyphosphate/MXene decorated carbon foam materials as polysulfide traps for fire-safe and stable lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are one of the most promising modern-day energy supply systems because of their high theoretical energy density and low cost.However,the development of high-energy density Li-S batteries with high loading of flammable sulfur faces the challenges of electrochemical performance degradation owing to the shuttle effect and safety issues related to fire or explosion accidents.In this work,we report a three-dimensional(3D)conductive nitrogen-doped carbon foam supported electrostatic self-assembled MXene-ammonium polyphosphate(NCF-MXene-APP)layer as a heat-resistant,thermally-insulated,flame-retardant,and freestanding host for Li-S batteries with a facile and costeffective synthesis method.Consequently,through the use of NCF-MXene-APP hosts that strongly anchor polysulfides,the Li-S batteries demonstrate outstanding electrochemical properties,including a high initial discharge capacity of 1191.6 mA h g^(-1),excellent rate capacity of 755.0 mA h g^(-1)at 1 C,and long-term cycling stability with an extremely low-capacity decay rate of 0.12%per cycle at 2 C.More importantly,these batteries can continue to operate reliably under high temperature or flame attack conditions.Thus,this study provides valuable insights into the design of safe high-performance Li-S batteries.

Reconcile the contradictory wettability requirements for the reduction and oxidation half-reactions in overall CO_(2) photoreduction via alternately hydrophobic surfaces

The overall photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction reaction(OPCRR)that can directly convert CO_(2) and H_(2)O into fuels represents a promising renewable energy conversion technology.As a typical redox reaction,the OPCRR involves two half-reactions:the CO_(2) reduction half-reaction(CRHR)and the water oxidation half-reaction(WOHR).Generally,both half-reactions can be promoted by adjusting the wettability of catalysts.However,there is a contradiction in wettability requirements for the two half-reactions.Specifically,CRHR prefers a hydrophobic surface that can accumulate more CO_(2) molecules on the active sites,ensuring the appropriate ratio of gas-phase(CO_(2))to liquid-phase(H_(2)O)reactants.Conversely,the WOHR prefers a hydrophilic surface that can promote the departure of the gaseous product(O_(2))from the catalyst surface,preventing isolation between active sites and the reactant(H_(2)O).Here,we successfully reconciled the contradictory wettability requirements for the CRHR and WOHR by creating an alternately hydrophobic catalyst.This was achieved through a selectively hydrophobic modification method and a charge-transfer-control strategy.Consequently,the collaboratively promoted CRHR and WOHR led to a significantly enhanced OPCRR with a solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency of 0.186%.Notably,in ethanol production,the catalyst exhibited a 10.64-fold increase in generation rate(271.44μmol g^(-1)h~(-1))and a 4-fold increase in selectivity(55.77%)compared to the benchmark catalyst.This innovative approach holds great potential for application in universal overall reactions involving gas participation.

HYDROPHOBICITY OF CONTAMINATED SILICONE RUBBER SURFACES

Silicone rubber (SIR) shows superior performance when used outdoors, but its surface can be transformed from inherently hydrophobic to hydrophilic by the adsorption of contaminants. Al(OH)(3), Al2O3, quartz powder and active carbon were selected as authentic contaminants. Hydrophobicity of the surface was determined using contact angle measurement. The results indicate that the adsorbability of the contaminants can strongly affect the hydrophobicity of contaminated SIR surface. The increasing rate of contact angle of specimens contaminated by Al(OH)(3) was much faster than that by Al2O3 and quartz due to the adsorption of migrated low molecular weight (LMW) polydimethylsiloxanes. Specimens contaminated by active carbon could achieve surface hydrophobicity within 15 min because active carbon has high adsorbability. Surfaces of contaminated ultrapure SIR, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and glass remain hydrophilic because they contain no mobile LMW components. The addition of oligomeric polydimethylsiloxanes has little effect on the hydrophobicity of contaminants covered on SIR surface.

HYDROPHOBICITY－HYDROPHILICITY BALANCE RELATIONSHIPSFORCOLLECTORLESSFLOTATIONOFSULPHIDEMINERALS

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Effect of modifying agents on the hydrophobicity and yield of zinc borate synthesized by zinc oxide

The aim of this study was to synthesize zinc borate using zinc oxide, reference boric acid, and reference zinc borate （reference ZB） as the seed, and to investigate the effects of modifying agents and reaction parameters on the hydrophobicity and yield, respectively. The reaction parameters include reaction time （1-5 h）, reactant ratio （H3BO3/ZnO by mass： 2-5）, seed ratio （seed crystal/（H3BO3＋ZnO） by mass： 0-2wt%）, reaction temperature （50-120~C）, cooling temperature （10-80~C）, and stirring rate （400-700 r/min）; the modifying agents involve propylene glycol （PG, 0-6wt%）, kerosene （lwt%-6wt%）, and oleic acid （OA, lwt%-6wt%） with solvents （isopropyl alcohol （IPA）, ethanol, and methanol）. The results of reaction yield obtained from either magnetically or mechanically stirred systems were compared. Zinc borate produced was characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）, and contact angle tests to identify the hydrophobicity. In conclusion, zinc borate is synthesized successfully under the optimized reaction conditions, and the different modifying agents with various solvents affect the hydrophobicity of zinc borate.

Synthesis, characterizations and hydrophobicity of micro/nano scaled heptadecafluorononanoic acid decorated copper nanoparticle

Copper nanoparticle was synthesized in the presence of heptadecafluorononanoic acid by the conventional solution immersion method at room temperature from the copper plate, as a resource material. The bulk etching rate was calculated by the weight loss method. The pale green colored Cu-HDFN was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and contact angle measurements and the results are critically analyzed.

Plasma jet array treatment to improve the hydrophobicity of contaminated HTV silicone rubber

An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet array specially designed for HTV silicone rubber treatment is reported in this paper. Stable plasma containing highly energetic active particles was uniformly generated in the plasma jet array. The discharge pattern was affected by the applied voltage. The divergence phenomenon was observed at low gas flow rate and abated when the flow rate increased.Temperature of the plasma plume is close to room temperature which makes it feasible for temperature-sensitive material treatment. Hydrophobicity of contaminated HTV silicone rubber was significantly improved after quick exposure of the plasma jet array, and the effective treatment area reached 120 mm？×？50 mm（length？×？width）. Reactive particles in the plasma accelerate accumulation of the hydrophobic molecules, namely low molecular weight silicone chains, on the contaminated surface, which result in a hydrophobicity improvement of the HTV silicone rubber.

Comparison of Flame-retardancy Property and Mechanism between a Phosphate Ester and a Phosphoramine Flame-retardants

A halogen-free flame-retardant (hydroquinone bis (N,N’-diarylphosphoramidate),4N-HDP) containing phosphorus-nitrogen was synthesized.Its structure was characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR),nuclear magnetic resonance (^(1)H-NMR and^(31)P-NMR).Thermogravimetric analysis (TG),limiting oxygen index (LOI),UL-94 vertical burning test (UL-94),thermogravimetric-infrared instrument (TG-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to compare the flame-retarding performance and mechanism of hydroquinone bis (diphenyl phosphate) (HDP) and 4N-HDP.TG,IR and TG-IR were used for comparative analysis,indicating that both HDP and 4N-HDP are flame-retardants,and the gas phase and condensed phase act synergistically.In the pyrolysis process,it is divided into two steps:the first step is the breakage of large molecules to small molecules;the second step is the gasification and carbonization of small molecules,and eventually produces phosphate ester and non-flammable gases.Through the comparison of various results,it could be found that 4N-HDP has better flame-retarding performance compared to HDP in the composite with polycarbonate (PC).

Facile Fabrication of Cellulosic Paper-based Composites with Temperature-controlled Hydrophobicity and Excellent Mechanical Strength

In this paper,we presented a novel strategy to employ a plantderived carbohydrate polymer,i.e.,cellulose,to prepare a hydrophobic composite.Cellulose was used as a scaffold,and ethylene-propylene side by side(ES)fiber was thermally melted and then coated on the cellulose surface to achieve hydrophobicity.Experimental results revealed that the thermocoating ES fibers greatly increased the water contact angle of the cellulose scaffold from 25°to 153°while simultaneously enhanced the wet tensile strength of the composite approximately 6.7-fold(drying temperature of 170℃)compared with the pure cellulose paper.In particular,compared with other related research,the prepared cellulose-based composite possessed excellent hydrophobicity and superior mechanical strength,which introduces a new chemical engineering approach to prepare hydrophobic cellulose-based functional materials.

One-step synthesis of hydrophobic magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles and their application in flame-retardant polypropylene composites

Hydrophobic magnesium hydroxide(MH) nanoparticles were prepared by a one-step synthesis method in a high-gravity environment generated by a novel impinging stream–rotating packed bed(IS-RPB) reactor. The reactant solutions were simultaneously and continuously pumped into the IS-RPB reactor, and then Tween80 was added as a surface modifier. The morphology, structure, and properties of blank and hydrophobic MH were characterized. The effects of MH nanoparticles on the flame retardancy, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of PP/MH composites were also studied. We found that the obtained MH nanoparticles exhibited hexagonal lamella with a mean size of 30 nm, excellent hydrophobic properties(e.g., high water contact angle of 112°), and improved thermal stability of MH. The limiting oxygen index(LOI) further showed that increased MH loading can significantly improve flame-retardant performance, which reached 29.3% for PP/MH composites with 30 wt% hydrophobic samples. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of the PP/MH composites with hydrophobic samples were also much higher than those of PP/MH composites with blank MH. Results showed that the one-step synthesis had high potential application in the large-scale production of hydrophobic MH nanoparticles.

Construction of Self-Assembly Based Tunable Absorber:Lightweight,Hydrophobic and Self-Cleaning Properties

Although multifunctional aerogels are expected to be used in applications such as portable electronic devices,it is still a great challenge to confer multifunctionality to aerogels while maintaining their inherent microstructure.Herein,a simple method is proposed to prepare multifunctional NiCo/C aerogels with excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties,superhydrophobicity,and self-cleaning by water-induced NiCo-MOF self-assembly.Specifically,the impedance matching of the three-dimensional(3D)structure and the interfacial polarization provided by CoNi/C as well as the defect-induced dipole polarization are the primary contributors to the broadband absorption.As a result,the prepared NiCo/C aerogels have a broadband width of 6.22 GHz at 1.9 mm.Due to the presence of hydrophobic functional groups,CoNi/C aerogels improve the stability in humid environments and obtain hydrophobicity with large contact angles>140°.This multifunctional aerogel has promising applications in electromagnetic wave absorption,resistance to water or humid environments.

Ordered silicon nanorod arrays with controllable geometry and robust hydrophobicity

Highly ordered silicon nanorod（Si NR） arrays with controllable geometry are fabricated via nanosphere lithography and metal-assisted chemical etching. It is demonstrated that the key to achieving a high-quality metal mask is to construct a non-close-packed template that can be removed with negligible damage to the mask. Hydrophobicity of Si NR arrays of different geometries is also studied. It is shown that the nanorod structures are effectively quasi-hydrophobic with a contact angle as high as 142°, which would be useful in self-cleaning nanorod-based device applications.

Improving Hydrophobicity of Glass Surface Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Treatment in Atmospheric Air

Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in industrial applications, especially in material surface treatment. In this paper, the treatment of a glass surface for improving hydrophobicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） at atmospheric pressure in ambient air is conducted, and the surface properties of the glass before and after the DBD treatment are studied by using contact angle measurement, surface resistance measurement and wet flashover voltage tests. The effects of the applied voltage and time duration of DBD on the surface modification are studied, and the optimal conditions for the treatment are obtained. It is found that a layer of hydrophobic coating is formed on the glass surface after spraying a thin layer of silicone oil and undergoing the DBD treatment, and the improvement of hydrophobicity depends on DBD voltage and treating time. It seems that there exists an optimum treating time for a certain applied voltage of DBD during the surface treatment, The test results of thermal aging and chemical aging show that the hydrophobic layer has quite stable characteristics. The interaction mechanism between the DBD plasma and the glass surface is discussed. It is concluded that CHa and large molecule radicals can react with the radicals in the glass surface to replace OH, and the hydrophobicity of the glass surface is improved accordingly.

Improving the anti-collapse performance of water-based drilling fluids of Xinjiang Oilfield using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles with cationic surfactants

Wellbore instability,especially drilling with water-based drilling fluids(WBDFs)in complex shale for-mations,is a critical challenge for oil and gas development.The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of using hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticle(HMN)to enhance the comprehensive performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,especially the anti-collapse performance.The effect of HMN on the overall performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield,including inhibition,plugging,lu-bricity,rheology,and filtration loss,was studied with a series of experiments.The mechanism of HMN action was studied by analyzing the changes of shale surface structure and chemical groups,wettability,and capillary force.The experimental results showed that HMN could improve the performance of WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfeld to inhibit the hydration swelling and dispersion of shale.The plugging and lubrication performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield were also enhanced with HMN based on the experimental results.HMN had less impact on the rheological and filtration performance of the WBDFs in the Xinjiang Oilfield.In addition,HMN significantly prevented the decrease of shale strength.The potential mechanism of HMN was as follows.The chemical composition and structure of the shale surface were altered due to the adsorption of HMN driven by electrostatic attraction.Changes of the shale surface resulted in significant wettability transition.The capillary force of the shale was converted from a driving force of water into the interior to a resistance.In summary,hydrophobic nanoparticles presented afavorable application potential for WBDFs.

Simulation of Hydrophobicity Evaluation and Structural Optimization Design Method for Micro-Array Units

In recent years, researches published on hydrophobic materials increase rapidly, wherein the method for changing hydrophobicity by modifying a micro-array structure on the surface of the material also has been proposed. Of course, if it is possible for us to quantitatively analyse and evaluate hydrophobicity of different structures of one certain material at first, this task will greatly optimize the design of actual structures. In this work, we used the algorithm for Laminar Two-Phase Flow, Horizontal-set method integrated in COMSOL to build two single-pore simulation structures in different shapes and simulated the behaviour of the liquid transition from Cassie-state to Wenzel-state during the impregnation process. After that, the intrinsic contact angle of Structure T (a porous structure with a T-shaped sectional profile) was obtained under a certain pressure which maintained liquids in Cassie-state. Meanwhile, two equilibrium states of the liquid-air interface as well as two different patterns of the equilibrium state disrupting were found in Structure R (a porous structure with a Chamfered T-shaped sectional profile). Simulation results show that the modelling method can be applied for simulating the hydrophobicity of different porous structures and optimizing the procedures for the design of the micro-array efficiently.

Fabrication of hydrophobic Pd/Al_(2)O_(3)-phosphoric acid via P-O-Al bond for liquid hydrogenation reaction

Alumina(Al_(2)O_(3))is widely used in the chemical industry as the catalyst and support due to its high specific surface area,abundant pore size distribution and chemical stability.However,the occurrence of hydration in water environment,result in outstanding decrease in specific surface area and collapse of pore structure.In this work,dodecyl phosphoric acid(PA)is used to modify the surface of Al_(2)O_(3)to obtain a series of hydrophobic material(Al_(2)O_(3)-PA).Based on XPS and NMR analysis,PA is chemically bonded on Al_(2)O_(3)to form PAOAAl bond.Furthermore,BET and WCA results display that Al_(2)O_(3)-1PA exhibits excellent the hydrophobicity and hydrothermal stability while maintains the pore structure.Take it as the substrate to support the Pd nanoparticles,the as-prepared Pd/Al_(2)O_(3)-PA shows the superior catalytic performance in the hydrogenation of phenol and anthraquinone relative to Pd/Al_(2)O_(3),indicating the accessibility of Pd sites after PA modification.Especially,the significantly enhanced stability is also obtained in four cycles for aqueous phenol hydrogenation.This can be ascribed that the PA modification inhibits the aggregation of Pd nanoparticles and the products adhesion in the reaction process.The extension of PA coatings to monolithic catalysts could expand their current capabilities in industrial applications and warrants ongoing investigation.

Hydrophobicity changes of polluted silicone rubber introduced by spatial and dose distribution of plasma jet

The hydrophobicity of polluted silicone rubber was improved rapidly under plasma jet treatment.It is an important phenomenon of the interaction between the plasma jet and the porous surface,and shows a wide application prospect in the power system.In this process,the spatial characteristics and dose of plasma jet are very important.Therefore,the variation of hydrophobicity of polluted silicone rubber under plasma jet treatment was studied,and the spatial characteristics and dose of plasma jet on polluted silicone rubber were also investigated in the work.The results show that the surface property(hydrophilic or hydrophobic)depended on the dose of plasma applied to the surface.The effective treated area was a circle,and the contact angles changed along the radial direction of the circle.This was attributable to the diffusion of plasma bullets on the surface and the distribution of plasma species.The plasma dose could be characterized by the energy density of the plasma applied on the surface.With the increase of plasma dose,the surface contact angles first increased rapidly and then decreased gradually.