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This article celebrates the Outstanding Reviewers for Industrial Chemistry & Materials in 2023.
The application of fluorinated coatings on textiles has garnered substantial research interest over the past years, owing to their ability to endow fabrics with exceptional hydrophobic characteristics, thereby mitigating issues associated with high moisture absorption and susceptibility to contamination. Nevertheless, the deployment of fluorinated substances has been proscribed due to concerns regarding their ecological impact and potential human toxicity. Consequently, there has been a burgeoning demand for hydrophobic textile alternatives derived from non-fluorinated, natural materials that are both sustainable and environmentally benign. This paper presents a thorough overview of the advancements in the development and functionalization of eco-friendly, hydrophobic textiles. Initially, the natural materials and their derivatives utilized in the creation of superhydrophobic textiles are delineated, including cellulose, lignin and chitosan, among others. Subsequently, methodologies for crafting efficient, stable, and resilient hydrophobic textiles are elucidated, encompassing conventional techniques as well as novel, inventive concepts. Furthermore, the current state of research and the obstacles faced in the evolution of multifunctional textiles based on superhydrophobic fabrics are examined. In conclusion, this discussion presents incisive insights into the impending direction of advancements in functional textiles.
Keywords: Eco-friendly; Superhydrophobic; Bioinspired; Multifunctional textiles; Natural materials.
As one of the promising hydrogen production technologies, the development of water electrolysis systems including recycling of their functional components is actively investigated. However, the focus lies on energy and chemical intensive metallurgical operations and less on mechanical separation processes in most studies. Here, an innovative surfactant-based separation process (using CTAB and SDS) is investigated to contribute to developing a selective physical separation process for ultrafine particles used in high temperature water electrolyzers (composed of NiO, LSM, ZrO2, and YSZ). Their different surface charge in alkaline solutions influences the adsorption of surfactants on particle surfaces as well as the modification of particulate wettability, which is a key separation feature. Through the observations of changes in surface charge and wetting behavior in the presence of surfactants, a feasibility of liquid–liquid particle separation (LLPS) is evaluated. The performance of LLPS with model particle mixtures shows the potential of selective separation with recovery of NiO in the organic phase, while the rest of the particles remain in the aqueous phase. Perovskite LSM is not considered in this system because it shows a high possibility of being recovered by magnetic separation. The proposed process can be further optimized by increasing the phase separation stages, and further research is needed on the NiO phase, which showed exceptional behavior in the presence of the surfactants.
Keywords: Fine particle separation; Solid oxide electrolyzer; Recycling; Particle surface modification.