Nanostructured Polymer Coatings, Filters, Batteries, and Hydrovoltaic Devices

聚合物纳米科学在过去的25年里经历了爆炸性的发展。现在是时候利用这些进步来制造功能纳米材料，造福社会和加拿大。主要研究方向为高分子纳米材料的应用。首先，刘的团队将推进NP-GLIDE涂层，该涂层具有接枝润滑成分的纳米池，可用于脱湿，从而使这些涂层的下一代具有防污、防冰或更耐磨的性能。NP-GLIDE涂层是透明的，很容易与各种基材结合。在它们光滑的表面上，普通的液体，如葡萄酒、咖啡、泥水和食用油，都可以干净地滑行。此外，涂鸦颜料和指纹液会在这些表面收缩。虽然现有的NP-GLIDE涂层足以满足许多应用，并且正在由一家加拿大公司商业化，但它们需要改进以满足更具挑战性的应用。例如，目前的防指纹涂层在手机或平板电脑的触摸屏上只能维持几个月。一种有效的涂层能够在设备的使用寿命内存活下来，这就需要更强的耐磨性。对于防冰应用，尽管我们现有的NP-GLIDE涂层的粘附力已经很低，但冰的粘附力需要降低2到3倍。在船体防污应用中使用NP-GLIDE涂层面临的挑战是，即使在长时间浸泡在水中，涂层也要保持其防污性能。Liu的团队正在解决这些问题，以充分发挥NP-GLIDE涂层的潜力。其次，他们将推进他们的纳米工程高通量过滤器，将油从乳液中分离出来。这些过滤器覆盖在大桶的口部，例如，在石油泄漏后，这些过滤器可以用来从湖泊或海洋表面舀起石油。刘现在正在研究这些过滤器是否可以用于从可再生燃料生物柴油中分离甘油，从而减少生物柴油生产对环境的影响。刘的团队还在开发过滤器，可以将乙醇从水中分离出来，消除乙醇蒸馏，减少白酒生产过程中的能源消耗。第三，他们正在开发纳米电池，这种电池有可能以比现有电池快得多的速度充电。这种电池有可能促进对未来电动汽车的接受。他们还在开发可以利用潮汐能发电的设备，甚至可以利用水或汗液蒸发发电，从而带来更清洁的替代能源。总之，刘的研究旨在利用基础知识创造新的纳米技术和产品，以造福社会和加拿大。通过他的研究，他将为加拿大的大学和工业界培养高素质的研究人员。

Polymer nanoscience has witnessed explosive growth in the past 25 years. It is now time to leverage these advancements for fabricating functional nanomaterials for applications that benefit society and Canada. Liu's research focuses on applications of polymeric nanomaterials.  Firstly, Liu's group will advance NP-GLIDE coatings that bear nano-pools of a grafted lubricating ingredient for dewetting enablement so that the future generations of these coatings will be anti-fouling, anti-icing, or more wear-resistant. NP-GLIDE coatings are transparent and readily bind to various substrates.  On their slippery surfaces common liquids such as wine, coffee, muddy water, and cooking oils have no problem to cleanly glide. Moreover, graffiti paints and fingerprint liquids contract on these surfaces. While the existing NP-GLIDE coatings are sufficient for many applications and are being commercialised by a Canadian company, they need to be improved to fulfil more challenging applications. For example, the current anti-fingerprint coating does not last more than several months on the touchscreen of a cellphone or tablet. An effective coating that survives the lifetime of the device will require more wear resistance. For anti-icing applications, the ice adhesion force needs to be decreased by 2 to 3 folds despite the already low values on our existing NP-GLIDE coatings. The challenge for using an NP-GLIDE coating for anti-fouling applications on the hulls of ships requires that the coating maintains its slippery properties even after extended immersion in water. Liu's group are addressing these issues to achieve the full potentials of the NP-GLIDE coatings.  Secondly, they will advance their nano-engineered high-flux filters that separate oil from emulsions. Covering the mouths of large barrels, these filters can, for example, be used to scoop up oil from the surface of a lake or an ocean after an oil spill. Liu is now examining whether these filters can be used to separate glycerol from a renewable fuel, biodiesel, reducing environmental impact of biodiesel production.  Liu's group is also developing filters that can separate ethanol from water and eliminate ethanol distillation and reduce energy consumption during the liquor production process. Thirdly, they are developing nano-designed batteries that have the potential to be charged at a much faster rate than the existing ones. Such batteries have the potential to promote the acceptance of future electric vehicles. They are also developing devices that can generate electricity from tidal waves or even from water or sweat evaporation, leading to cleaner alternative energies. In summary, Liu's research is aimed at the use of fundamental knowledge for the creation of new nanotechnologies and products to benefit society and Canada. Through his research, he will train highly qualified research personnel for Canadian universities and industry.