Biomimetics on the micro- and nanoscale – The 25th anniversary of the lotus effect

• Matthias Mail,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Thomas Speck,
• William M. Megill and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 850–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.69

• satisfactory nearly superhydrophobic material which the authors used to create an effective oil–water separation product they called nanopads. What this paper demonstrates, in addition to the not insignificant contribution it makes to the science of structured surfaces, is that with a bit of creativity and a

• repellency, but also on the capability of some surfaces to keep stable air layers under water – the so-called Salvinia Effect. Such air layers are of great importance for drag reduction (passive air lubrication), antifouling, sensor applications, or oil–water separation. Up to now, based on the

Dry under water: air retaining properties of large-scale elastomer foils covered with mushroom-shaped surface microstructures

• Matthias Mail,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Wilhelm Barthlott,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Lars Heepe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1370–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.113

• Effect, the capability to keep a stable air layer when submerged under water. Such air layers are of great importance, e.g., for drag reduction (passive air lubrication), antifouling, sensor applications or oil–water separation. Some biological models, e.g., the floating fern Salvinia or the backswimmer

Roll-to-roll fabrication of superhydrophobic pads covered with nanofur for the efficient clean-up of oil spills

• Patrick Weiser,
• Robin Kietz,
• Marc Schneider,
• Matthias Worgull and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1228–1239, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.102

• . These are well-suited for the cleanup of small oil spills. Keywords: hot embossing; lotus effect; nanofur; nanopads; oil spill cleanup; oil water separation; roll-to-roll; R2R; superhydrophobicity; Introduction Self-cleaning surfaces utilizing the famous lotus effect have gained significant importance

• for commercial applications. Furthermore, we demonstrate the subsequent processing of the thin polymeric nanofur into an exemplary product, namely so-called nanopads. These are an aid for the efficient cleaning of oil spills due to the efficient oil–water separation ability of nanofur [23]. The

• hot-embossing machine [31]. (The videos in Supporting Information File 3 and Supporting Information File 4 show the capability of oil–water separation of nanofur.) Once contaminated with oil, the contact angle with water decreases to below 90°. This makes sense since the contact angle is now

A comprehensive review on electrospun nanohybrid membranes for wastewater treatment

• Senuri Kumarage,
• Imalka Munaweera and
• Nilwala Kottegoda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 137–159, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.10

• Fe3O4 NPs to the composite mat helped in the easy recovery of the mats after application in oil–water separation, while PVDF provided mechanical strength. The membrane exhibited an oil sorption capacity of 35–46 g/g for four types of oils, namely sunflower oil, soybean oil, motor oil, and diesel oil [72

Nanostructured and oriented metal–organic framework films enabling extreme surface wetting properties

• Andre Mähringer,
• Julian M. Rotter and
• Dana D. Medina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1994–2003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.196

• demonstrate that on-surface alteration of the MOF film morphology by versatile solution-based bottom-up methods such as VAC is a powerful tool for realizing the potential of MOFs in surface-based technologies such as oil–water separation systems, antioil coatings, or self-cleaning surfaces. Furthermore, the

Rapid, ultraviolet-induced, reversibly switchable wettability of superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces

• Yunlu Pan,
• Wenting Kong,
• Bharat Bhushan and
• Xuezeng Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 866–873, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.87

• and Biomimetics (NLBB), The Ohio State University, 201 W. 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1142, USA 10.3762/bjnano.10.87 Abstract Controllable wettability is important for a wide range of applications, including intelligent switching, self-cleaning and oil/water separation. In this work, rapid

Novel reversibly switchable wettability of superhydrophobic–superhydrophilic surfaces induced by charge injection and heating

• Xiangdong Ye,
• Junwen Hou and
• Dongbao Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 840–847, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.84

• responsiveness that was superhydrophobic in acidic and neutral water but superhydrophilic in an ordinary environment. Lei et al. [17] reported pH-responsive switching between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity for high oil–water separation efficiency. Lv et al. [18] achieved a reversible transformation

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• et al. [59] has synthesized a highly efficient filter membrane for oil/water separation by combining super hydrophilic tunicate cellulose nanocrystal and cholesteric liquid crystal structure. The tunicate cellulose was derived from Halocynthia roretzi drasche, also known as the sea pineapple. In

Ultralight super-hydrophobic carbon aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide (CNFs/PVA/GO) for highly effective oil–water separation

• Zhaoyang Xu,
• Huan Zhou,
• Sicong Tan,
• Xiangdong Jiang,
• Weibing Wu,
• Jiangtao Shi and
• Peng Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 508–519, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.49

• 10.3762/bjnano.9.49 Abstract With the worsening of the oil-product pollution problem, oil–water separation has attracted increased attention in recent years. In this study, a porous three-dimensional (3D) carbon aerogel based on cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and graphene oxide (GO

• facile preparation process of carbon aerogels, these materials are viable candidates for use in oil–water separation and environmental protection. Keywords: 3D network structure; carbon aerogel; cellulose nanofibers; graphene oxide; oil absorption; poly(vinyl alcohol); Introduction In recent years, oil

• -hydrophobicity for oil–water separation. The CNF/PVA/GO aerogel with a macroscopic 3D structure was prepared through freeze drying to connect the three components. Then, the super-hydrophobic CNF/PVA/GO carbon aerogel was fabricated by a carbonization treatment in a tubular furnace. The as-prepared carbon