Issue 18, 2021, Issue in Progress

The importance of nanofiber hydrophobicity for effective fog water collection

Abstract

To increase fog collection efficiency in a fiber system, controlled wetting properties are desirable. In this work, hydrophobic (PA11) and hydrophilic (PA6) polyamides were tested to verify the surface wetting effect on fog water collection rate. Highly porous fiber meshes were obtained from both polymer solutions. Randomly oriented fibers with average diameter of approximately 150 nm were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Despite the similar geometry and zeta potential of PA6 and PA11 meshes, it was shown that the hydrophobic PA11 nanofibers are more effective at water collection than hydrophilic PA6. These results indicate that wetting properties of electrospun nanofiber mesh have a significant effect on the process of draining from the mesh, as discussed in this paper. The results obtained are crucial for designing more efficient fog water collectors that include nanofibers in their construction.

Graphical abstract: The importance of nanofiber hydrophobicity for effective fog water collection

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Jan 2021
Accepted
07 Mar 2021
First published
15 Mar 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 10866-10873

The importance of nanofiber hydrophobicity for effective fog water collection

J. Knapczyk-Korczak, P. K. Szewczyk and U. Stachewicz, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 10866 DOI: 10.1039/D1RA00749A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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