Superhydrophobic surfaces, artificially mimicking lotus leaves, have captured the attention of scientists and engineers over the past few decades. Recent trends have shifted from superhydrophobicity to superominipohobicity, or superamphiphobicity. In addition, dynamic rather than static surface wetting/dewetting properties, which can be triggered by various stimuli, including temperature, pH, magnetic/electric fields, solvents, light exposure etc, have been highly sought after for commercial applications. This book will focus on recent topics related to various stimuli-responsive wetting/dewetting surfaces, and give an overview of the knowledge and concepts of how to design and establish these smart artificial surfaces, which can be used for technical developments in a wide variety research fields.

This book comprises interdisciplinary topics including consolidating research activities in all experimental and theoretical aspects of natural advanced materials in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine including structure, synthesis, processing, physico-chemical properties, and applications. The book covers formulation for natural and organic cosmetics, CO2 sequestration, drug delivery systems, biosensors, and other related topics. In addition, case studies including some data are presented that demonstrate the growing interest and cost benefits of biomaterials. The main features of the book are: It discusses the properties and applications of materials from natural sources from an environmental and biomedical engineering perspective. It explores properties of natural materials used in drug delivery, biofuel, adsorbents, waste water treatment, cosmetics, and so forth. It includes studies on recent and emerging biomaterials. It details applications of natural materials in varied areas. It introduces the structure and mechanisms of self-healing material, biomaterial, biofuel, polymers, and adsorbents. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in chemical, environmental, and natural resource engineering.

This comprehensive reference work satisfies the need for in-depth and multidisciplinary coverage of the current state of the art of magnetic hybrid nanoalloys (MHNAs) and their polymer and ceramic nanocomposites. MHNAs represent one of the most challenging research areas in modern science and technology. These materials are stiff and strong with remarkable electronic, mechanical, electrical, thermal and biocompatible properties, and a high potential for multifunctional applications ranging from industry to medicine. The peer-reviewed literature is already extensive, witnessing rapid progress in experimental and theoretical studies on fundamental properties as well as various advanced applications. Part 1 covers theory, modelling, and synthesis (growth and alloying mechanisms) of MHNAs. Formation mechanisms of magneto-electric multiferroic materials, magnetic carbon nanotube (CNTs), and perovskite materials, which are a novel class of next-generation multifunctional nanomaterials, are discussed. The second part focuses on characterization techniques for electrical and dielectrical, rheological, biocompatibility, and other properties, as well as applications in the industrial, agricultural, environmental, and biomedical sectors. Finally, life cycle assessment is considered as essential to the development of nanomaterials and nanoproducts from MHNAs. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and other professionals in the fields of materials science and engineering, polymer science, surface science, bioengineering, and chemical engineering will find comprehensive and authoritative information for solving fundamental and applied problems in the characterization and use of these multifunctional nanomaterials.

The book containing 18 chapters is divided into three parts: Part 1: Fundamentals of Ice Formation and Ice Characteristics; Part 2: Ice Adhesion and Its Measurement; and Part 3: Methods to Mitigate Ice Adhesion. The topics covered Include: Factors influencing the formation, adhesion and friction of ice; ice nucleation on solid surfaces; physics of ice nucleation and growth on a surface; condensation frosting; defrosting properties of structured surfaces; relationship between surface free energy and ice adhesion to surfaces; metrology of ice adhesion; test methods for quantifying ice adhesion strength to surfaces; interlaboratory studies of ice adhesion strength; mechanisms of surface icing and deicing technologies; anti-icing using microstructured surfaces; durability assessment of icephobic coatings; bio-inspired icephobic coatings; challenges in rational fabrication of icephobic surfaces; protection from ice accretion on aircraft; and numerical modeling and its application to inflight icing.

A comprehensive and systematic treatment that focuses on surfaces and interfaces phenomena inhabited in biomimetic superhydrophobic materials, offering new fundamentals and novel insights. As such, this new book covers the natural surfaces, fundamentals, fabrication methods and exciting applications of superhydrophobic materials, with particular attention paid to the smart surfaces that can show switchable and reversible water wettability under external stimuli, such as pH, temperature, light, solvents, and electric fields. It also includes recent theoretical advances of superhydrophobic surfaces with regard to the wetting process, and some promising breakthroughs to promote this theory. As a result, materials scientists, physicists, physical chemists, chemical engineers, and biochemists will benefit greatly from a deeper understanding of this topic.

The Frontiers in Chemistry Editorial Office team are delighted to present the inaugural “Frontiers in Chemistry: Rising Stars” article collection, showcasing the high-quality work of internationally recognized researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. All Rising Star researchers featured within this collection were individually nominated by the Journal’s Chief Editors in recognition of their potential to influence the future directions in their respective fields. The work presented here highlights the diversity of research performed across the entire breadth of the chemical sciences, and presents advances in theory, experiment and methodology with applications to compelling problems. This Editorial features the corresponding author(s) of each paper published within this important collection, ordered by section alphabetically, highlighting them as the great researchers of the future. The Frontiers in Chemistry Editorial Office team would like to thank each researcher who contributed their work to this collection. We would also like to personally thank our Chief Editors for their exemplary leadership of this article collection; their strong support and passion for this important, community-driven collection has ensured its success and global impact. Laurent Mathey, PhD Journal Development Manager

The book details the recent and exciting developments on various fronts in the textile field with regard to novel and innovative functionalities, as well as their applications in various industries. Technical textiles are used in various industries for a host of purposes and applications. Recent developments in novel and innovative functionalities to textiles include easy-to-clean or dirt-repellent, flame retardancy, anti-bacterial, and fog-harvesting properties. Textiles for electronics based on graphene, CNTs and other nanomaterials, conductive textiles, textiles for sensor function, textile-fixed catalysts, textiles for batteries and energy storage, textiles as substrates for tissue engineering, and textiles for O/W separation are prevalent as well. All this development has been made possible through adopting novel ways for finishing textiles, e.g., by appropriate surface modification techniques, and utilizing biomimetic concepts borrowed from nature. This unique book is divided into four parts: Part 1: Recent Developments/Current Challenges in Textile Finishing; Part 2: Surface Modification Techniques for Textiles; Part 3: Innovative Functionalities of Textiles; Part 4: Fiber-Reinforced Composites. The topics covered include: Antimicrobial textile finishes; flame retardant textile finishing; "self-cleaning" or easy-to-clean textiles; metallization of textiles; atmospheric pressure plasma, and UV-based photochemical surface modification of textiles; tunable wettability of textiles; 3D textile structures for fog harvesting; textile-fixed catalysts; medical textiles as substrates for tissue engineering; and fiber-reinforced "green" or "greener" biocomposites and the relevance of fiber/matrix adhesion.