Youfa Zhang

Electrophoretically assembled nanoporous coatings with enhanced anti-impalement stability for durable anti-icing surfaces.

Precise tailoring of hydrophobic microenvironments surrounding catalytic active sites has emerged as a critical strategy for enhancing the efficiency of electrochemical CO ₂ reduction reaction. However, covalent modulation of catalyst hydrophobicity is rarely reported, and the mechanistic influence of hydrophobicity‐driven interfacial catalysis remains unclear. Herein, we report a general synthetic methodology for the covalent immobilization of structurally tunable hydrophobic alkyl chains onto nanocarbon‐loaded single‐atom catalysts. The covalently hydrophobic nanocarbon supported Ni single‐atom catalysts deliver near‐unity CO selectivity over a broad potential range from −0.5 to −1.2 V (versus the reversible hydrogen electrode) in flow cells. Integrated spectroscopic, computational kinetic, and thermodynamic analyses reveal that the alkyl chains form hydrophobic barriers by disrupting interfacial water networks, resulting in a 0.37 eV increase in energy barrier of the hydrogen evolution reaction. The hydrophobic micro‐environment further stabilizes the *COOH intermediate under aqueous conditions, lowering its formation Gibbs energy (Δ G ) by 0.17 eV relative to unmodified catalysts. This work establishes a universal hydrophobic modification strategy for carbon‐based catalysts that breaks the conventional activity‐selectivity trade‐off in aqueous electrocatalysis, opening new opportunities for optimizing gas‐consumption electrochemical reactions.

Precise tailoring of hydrophobic microenvironments surrounding catalytic active sites has emerged as a critical strategy for enhancing the efficiency of electrochemical CO ₂ reduction reaction. However, covalent modulation of catalyst hydrophobicity is rarely reported, and the mechanistic influence of hydrophobicity‐driven interfacial catalysis remains unclear. Herein, we report a general synthetic methodology for the covalent immobilization of structurally tunable hydrophobic alkyl chains onto nanocarbon‐loaded single‐atom catalysts. The covalently hydrophobic nanocarbon supported Ni single‐atom catalysts deliver near‐unity CO selectivity over a broad potential range from −0.5 to −1.2 V (versus the reversible hydrogen electrode) in flow cells. Integrated spectroscopic, computational kinetic, and thermodynamic analyses reveal that the alkyl chains form hydrophobic barriers by disrupting interfacial water networks, resulting in a 0.37 eV increase in energy barrier of the hydrogen evolution reaction. The hydrophobic micro‐environment further stabilizes the *COOH intermediate under aqueous conditions, lowering its formation Gibbs energy (Δ G ) by 0.17 eV relative to unmodified catalysts. This work establishes a universal hydrophobic modification strategy for carbon‐based catalysts that breaks the conventional activity‐selectivity trade‐off in aqueous electrocatalysis, opening new opportunities for optimizing gas‐consumption electrochemical reactions.

Applying organic coatings is an effective method to prevent corrosion and biofouling on ships and marine engineering equipment. However, organic coatings still suffer from curing defects during the curing process, leading to premature coating failure. A single organic coating is difficult to achieve both corrosion resistance and bio-fouling prevention simultaneously. In his study, a hydrophobic epoxy coating with nanoparticl-decotated hexagonal boron nitride nano-flakes was prepared by mixing two-dimensional/zero-dimensional hybrid BN@PDA@SiO2-NH2@PTMS superhydrophobic particles with epoxy resin. The properties of the filler particles and coating were analyzed by SEM, FT-IR, XPS, AFM, contact angle testing, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, salt spray corrosion, E. coli and chlorella adhesion testing. Results indicate that the coating possesses excellent mechanical properties, chemical stability, and anti-corrosion and anti-fouling capabilities. The low-frequency impedance modulus (|Z|0.01Hz) of the BN@PDA@SiO2-NH2@PTMS-E51 coating reached 2.58×1011 Ω·cm2. After 24 hours and 72 hours of immersion in E. coli culture medium, bacterial coverage on the coated surface was only 0.54% and 1.78%, respectively. Following 15 days of immersion in Chlorella culture medium, Chlorella coverage on the coating surface was merely 2.42%. This study provides novel insights for developing integrated anti-corrosion and anti-fouling coatings for marine engineering equipment, holding significant practical engineering implications.

Loaded with surfactants, porous carriers hold great promise for fabricating superhydrophilic interfaces, yet their practical application is restricted by insufficient stability and severe leaching. Inspired by advanced nano-encapsulation techniques, novel double-shell sustained-release capsules with precisely controllable morphology and release kinetics are expected to overcome these limitations. Here, the unique multi-scale core design and azobenzene-cyclodextrin (Azo-CD)/hydrolyzed nano-SiO2 double-shell structure feature a hardness-flexible intelligent synergistic response. This endows the superhydrophilic coating with durable sustained-release performance and robust structural stability, effectively avoiding interface failure and organic swelling under harsh physicochemical conditions in conventional anti-fogging and self-cleaning applications. The results demonstrate that the superhydrophilic double-shell coating possesses outstanding corrosion resistance, immersion stability, wear resistance, and aging resistance. In photovoltaic applications, the excellent long-lasting self-cleaning, anti-reflection and transmittance enhancements of the robust double-shell capsule coating yield an approximately 20% cumulative gain in power generation. These insights have redefined the contribution of capsule coatings, highlighting their function in regulating long-term composition and structural evolution, and laying a solid foundation for the design of advanced superhydrophilic composites with exceptional durability.

Study on counterintuitive hydrophilic liquid-like surface (LLS) remain in a nascent stage despite its exceptional application potential in interfacial engineering. Here, inspired by the inherent wetting heterogeneity of mPEG-silane, for the first time we discover a dynamic wettability switching mechanism in PEG-grafted LLS through solvation-coupled mechanical regulation of PEG brush conformations. Ordered methoxy-terminated brushes enable water droplet sliding (θ ≈ 33°), while disordered ether-exposed configurations induce spreading (θ ≈ 4°). This conformational control allows unprecedented spatial decoupling of condensation modes (dropwise vs filmwise) on homogeneous surfaces, with sliding-state LLS showing increase nucleation efficiency versus PDMS-grafted LLS. Notably, spreading-state surface achieves ultrafast underwater oil detachment (< 0.8 s) through synergistic hydration from dense ether groups and low friction from flexible brushes. Our findings establish molecular conformation engineering as a paradigm for designing multifunctional LLS with applications spanning smart thermal management, microfluidic systems, and novel anti-oil fouling coatings.

Integrated with multi‐scale structure and surface chemical composition, superspreading micro‐nano porous materials have made breakthroughs in the fields of bubble adhesion resistance and fluid transport. The pressing problems associated with superspreading materials are their inherent defects such as system compatibility issues, capillary limitation, or loss of modified hydrophilic groups. Here, leveraging the spontaneous agglomeration of inorganic particles and the optimization of the micro‐nano structure, the ingeniously designed SiC─SiO ₂ ‐based superspreading micro‐nano structures have excellent droplet spreading (6.5 ms) and extremely high capillary performance parameter of K / R _eff = 2.08, thus forming a scalable, efficient and cost‐effective structure. The combination of superhydrophilicity (water contact angle, WCA = 0°) and capillary effect can significantly eliminate the local pinning effect, promote the advancement of the three‐phase contact line (TCL), and form a stable and efficient superspreading water flow. Furthermore, the superspreading micro‐nano structures exhibit the fastest evolution of bubble growth with an extremely fast growth‐desorption cycle (<20 ms) and the smallest bubble stripping size (139.9 µm). The system provides insights into the experimental and theoretical applications of two‐phase (liquid, vapor) flow, and can be further extended to other more complex liquid transport functional systems for the development of intelligent superspreading structural materials.