Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 332 - 336 (2008)
Published online: 30 May 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.136
Subject Categories: Nanomaterials | Structural properties
Superwetting nanowire membranes for selective absorption
Jikang Yuan1,6, Xiaogang Liu2,3, Ozge Akbulut2, Junqing Hu4, Steven L. Suib5, Jing Kong1 & Francesco Stellacci2
Abstract
The construction of nanoporous membranes is of great technological importance for various applications, including catalyst supports, filters for biomolecule purification, environmental remediation and seawater desalination1, 2, 3. A major challenge is the scalable fabrication of membranes with the desirable combination of good thermal stability, high selectivity and excellent recyclability. Here we present a self-assembly method for constructing thermally stable, free-standing nanowire membranes that exhibit controlled wetting behaviour ranging from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. These membranes can selectively absorb oils up to 20 times the material's weight in preference to water, through a combination of superhydrophobicity and capillary action. Moreover, the nanowires that form the membrane structure can be re-suspended in solutions and subsequently re-form the original paper-like morphology over many cycles. Our results suggest an innovative material that should find practical applications in the removal of organics, particularly in the field of oil spill cleanup.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543
- International Center for Young Scientists, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
- Department of Chemistry and Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3060, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Francesco Stellacci2 e-mail: frstella@mit.edu
Correspondence to: Jing Kong1 e-mail: jingkong@mit.edu
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