Patterned dense Janus membranes with simultaneously robust fouling, wetting and scaling resistance for membrane distillation

Bioinspired Materials for Controlling Mineral Adhesion: From Innovation Design to Diverse Applications

The advancement of controllable mineral adhesion materials has significantly impacted various sectors, including industrial production, energy utilization, biomedicine, construction engineering, food safety, and environmental management. Natural biological materials exhibit distinctive and controllable adhesion properties that inspire the design of artificial systems for controlling mineral adhesion. In recent decades, researchers have sought to create bioinspired materials that effectively regulate mineral adhesion, significantly accelerating the development of functional materials across various emerging fields. Herein, we review recent advances in bioinspired materials for controlling mineral adhesion, including bioinspired mineralized materials and bioinspired antiscaling materials. First, a systematic overview of biological materials that exhibit controllable mineral adhesion in nature is provided. Then, the mechanism of mineral adhesion and the latest adhesion characterization between minerals and material surfaces are introduced. Later, the latest advances in bioinspired materials designed for controlling mineral adhesion are presented, ranging from the molecular level to micro/nanostructures, including bioinspired mineralized materials and bioinspired antiscaling materials. Additionally, recent applications of these bioinspired materials in emerging fields are discussed, such as industrial production, energy utilization, biomedicine, construction engineering, and environmental management, highlighting their roles in promoting or inhibiting aspects. Finally, we summarize the ongoing challenges and offer a perspective on the future of this charming field.

Architecting highly hydratable and permeable dense Janus membrane for rapid and robust membrane distillation desalination

Dense Janus membranes (JMs) are potential candidates in hypersaline wastewater treatments for membrane distillation (MD). However, dense surface layers generally add obvious membrane mass transfer resistance, limiting its practical application. In this study, a novel dense JM was facilely developed by controlled interfacial polymerization utilizing a phosphonium functional monomer (THPC) on hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate. MD desalination performance results showed that the optimized THPC/PVDF JM surprisingly achieved a flux even 21.3 % higher than that of its substrate and exhibited robust stability to surfactants, oil, and gypsum. Importantly, potential mechanism of remarkable flux enhancement of dense JMs was revealed. Raman and DSC analyses showed that THPC/PVDF JM with elevated intermediate water content had minimal enthalpy for water evaporation, thus facilitating water vaporization. Dynamic water contact angle measurements, advanced microstructural characterization by positron annihilation spectroscopy and water permeability experiments etc. showed that THPC/PVDF JM with high hydrophilicity and appropriately enlarged effective pore sizes provided strong water-absorption capacity and water permeability, contributing to rapid water replenishment. Both synergistically contributed to an incredible increase in membrane flux. Meanwhile, the dense surface layer, featured by its strong hydrophilicity and abundant hydroxyl groups, effectively prevented complex contaminants from intruding hydrophobic substrate and discouraged oil/gypsum adhesion, ensuring stable MD operation. This study shall provide useful insights and strategies to design high-flux dense JMs with minimal membrane failure propensity, highlighting its great potential for efficient hypersaline wastewater treatments.

An in-depth analysis of membrane distillation research (1990-2023): Exploring trends and future directions through bibliometric approach

This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive investigation into membrane distillation (MD) research from 1990 to 2023. Covering 4389 publications, the analysis sheds light on the evolution, trends, and future directions of the field. It delves into authorship patterns, publication trends, prominent journals, and global contributions to reveal collaborative networks, research hotspots, and emerging themes within MD research. The findings demonstrate extensive global participation, with esteemed journals such as Desalination and the Journal of Membrane Science serving as key platforms for disseminating cutting-edge research. The analysis further identifies crucial themes and concepts driving MD research, ranging from membrane properties to strategies for mitigating membrane fouling. Co-occurrence analysis further highlights the interconnectedness of research themes, showcasing advancements in materials, sustainable heating strategies, contaminant treatment, and resource management. Overlay co-occurrence analysis provides temporal perspective on emerging research trends, delineating six key topics that will likely shape the future of MD. These include innovations in materials and surface engineering, sustainable heating strategies, emerging contaminants treatment, sustainable water management, data-driven approaches, and sustainability assessments. Finally, the study serves as a roadmap for researchers and engineers navigating the dynamic landscape of MD research, offering insights into current trends and future trajectories, ultimately aiming to propel MD technology towards enhanced performance, sustainability, and global relevance.

The antifouling mechanism and application of bio-inspired superwetting surfaces with effective antifouling performance

With the rapid development of industries, the issue of pollution on Earth has become increasingly severe. This has led to the deterioration of various surfaces, rendering them ineffective for their intended purposes. Examples of such surfaces include oil rigs, seawater intakes, and more. A variety of functional surface techniques have been created to address these issues, including superwetting surfaces, antifouling coatings, nano-polymer composite materials, etc. They primarily exploit the membrane's surface properties and hydration layer to improve the antifouling property. In recent years, biomimetic superwetting surfaces with non-toxic and environmental characteristics have garnered massive attention, greatly aiding in solving the problem of pollution. In this work, a detailed presentation of antifouling superwetting materials was made, including superhydrophobic surface, superhydrophilic surface, and superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic surface, along with the antifouling mechanisms. Then, the applications of the superwetting antifouling materials in antifouling domain were addressed in depth.