Nanostructured Polymer Coatings, Filters, Batteries, and Hydrovoltaic Devices

在过去的25年里，聚合物纳米科学经历了爆炸性的增长。现在是时候利用这些进步来制造功能纳米材料，用于造福社会和加拿大的应用。刘的研究重点是聚合物纳米材料的应用。首先，刘的团队将推进NP-Glide涂层，这种涂层带有纳米级的接枝润滑成分池，用于除湿，这样这些涂层的未来代将是防污、防冰或更耐磨的。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，常见的液体，如葡萄酒、咖啡、浑浊的水和食用油，清洁地滑动没有问题。此外，涂鸦涂料和指纹液在这些表面上收缩。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，但它们还需要改进，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持续几个月。一种能在器件寿命内存活的有效涂层需要更高的耐磨性。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，但需要将冰附着力降低2到3倍。将NP-Glide涂层用于船体防污应用面临的挑战是，即使在长时间浸入水中后，该涂层也要保持其光滑性能。刘的团队正在解决这些问题，以实现NP-Glide涂层的全部潜力。第二，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。例如，这些盖在大桶口上的过滤器可以用来在石油泄漏后从湖面或海洋中捞起石油。刘现在正在研究这些过滤器是否可以用来从可再生燃料生物柴油中分离甘油，减少生物柴油生产对环境的影响。刘的团队还在开发可以将乙醇从水中分离出来的过滤器，消除乙醇蒸馏，降低白酒生产过程中的能源消耗。第三，他们正在开发纳米设计的电池，这种电池的充电速度可能比现有电池快得多。这种电池有可能促进人们对未来电动汽车的接受。他们还在开发可以从潮汐波甚至水或汗水蒸发中发电的设备，从而产生更清洁的替代能源。总而言之，刘的研究旨在利用基础知识创造新的纳米技术和产品，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.