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.

Biomimetics in Materials Science provides a comprehensive theoretical and practical review of biomimetic materials with self-healing, self-lubricating and self-cleaning properties. These three topics are closely related and constitute rapidly developing areas of study. The field of self-healing materials requires a new conceptual understanding of this biomimetic technology, which is in contrast to traditional engineering processes such as wear and fatigue. Biomimetics in Materials Science is the first monograph to be devoted to these materials. A new theoretical framework for these processes is presented based on the concept of multi-scale structure of entropy and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, together with a detailed review of the available technology. The latter includes experimental, modeling, and simulation results obtained on self-healing/lubricating/cleaning materials since their emergence in the past decade.

Bio-inspired superhydrophobic coatings exhibit exceptional nonwetting properties, characterized by a large contact angle and minimal contact angle hysteresis. As a result, they have generated significant interest across diverse fields. This book explores advancements in superhydrophobic coatings, including their fabrication and application. It specifically addresses environmentally friendly chemicals for fabricating superhydrophobic coatings. Moreover, it delves into the application of superhydrophobic coatings in various scenarios, including anti-icing, anti-biofouling, and gas–liquid separation. By addressing these topics, the book offers a comprehensive overview of the historical background and progress made in the realm of superhydrophobic coatings. Furthermore, it serves as a rallying call to scientists worldwide, urging collaborative efforts to overcome development barriers and explore new application domains for the lotus-inspired superhydrophobic coating.

In recent times, polymer nanocomposites have attracted a great deal of scientific interest due to their unique advantages over conventional plastic materials, such as superior strength, modulus, thermal stability, thermal and electrical conductivity, and gas barrier. They are finding real and fast-growing applications in wide-ranging fields such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, packaging, and sports. This book focuses on the development of polymer nanocomposites as an advanced material for textile applications, such as fibers, coatings, and nanofibers. It compiles and details cutting-edge research in the science and nanotechnology of textiles with special reference to polymer nanocomposites in the form of invited chapters from scientists and subject experts from various institutes from all over the world. They include authors who are actively involved in the research and development of polymer nanocomposites with a wide range of functions—including antimicrobial, flame-retardant, gas barrier, shape memory, sensor, and energy-scavenging—as well as medical applications, such as tissue engineering and wound dressings, to create a new range of smart and intelligent textiles. Edited by Mangala Joshi, a prominent nanotechnology researcher at the premier Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, this book will appeal to anyone involved in nanotechnology, nanocomposites, advanced materials, polymers, fibers and textiles, and technical textiles.

Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). Collection of selected, peer reviewed papers from the 3rd International Conference on Materials and Products Manufacturing Technology (ICMPMT 2013), September 25-26, 2013, Guangzhou, China. The 402 papers are grouped as follows: Chapter 1: Micro/Nano Materials and Films; Chapter 2: Polymer Materials; Chapter 3: Composites; Chapter 4: Ceramic; Chapter 5: Metal, Alloys and Mining Engineering; Chapter 6: Chemical Materials; Chapter 7: Biomaterials and Technology; Chapter 8: Surface Engineering/Coatings; Chapter 9: Building Materials, Construction and Architecture; Chapter 10: Material Processing Technology; Chapter 11: Sensors and Detecting Technology; Chapter 12: Signal and Intelligent Information Processing; Chapter 13: Electronic, Optoelectronic and Automation; Chapter 14: Industrial Robotics and Mechatronics; Chapter 15: Mechanical Design and Modeling; Chapter 16: CAD/CAM/CAE; Chapter 17: Product Design and Manufacture; Chapter 18: Advanced Manufacturing Technology; Chapter 19: Computer Applications and Mathematical Modeling; Chapter 20: Industrial Engineering and System Analysis; Chapter 21: Engineering Management and Engineering Education

Comprehensive Membrane Science and Engineering, Second Edition, Four Volume Set is an interdisciplinary and innovative reference work on membrane science and technology. Written by leading researchers and industry professionals from a range of backgrounds, chapters elaborate on recent and future developments in the field of membrane science and explore how the field has advanced since the previous edition published in 2010. Chapters are written by academics and practitioners across a variety of fields, including chemistry, chemical engineering, material science, physics, biology and food science. Each volume covers a wide spectrum of applications and advanced technologies, such as new membrane materials (e.g. thermally rearranged polymers, polymers of intrinsic microporosity and new hydrophobic fluoropolymer) and processes (e.g. reverse electrodialysis, membrane contractors, membrane crystallization, membrane condenser, membrane dryers and membrane emulsifiers) that have only recently proved their full potential for industrial application. This work covers the latest advances in membrane science, linking fundamental research with real-life practical applications using specially selected case studies of medium and large-scale membrane operations to demonstrate successes and failures with a look to future developments in the field. Contains comprehensive, cutting-edge coverage, helping readers understand the latest theory Offers readers a variety of perspectives on how membrane science and engineering research can be best applied in practice across a range of industries Provides the theory behind the limits, advantages, future developments and failure expectations of local membrane operations in emerging countries

The revealing of the phenomenon of superhydrophobicity (the "lotus-effect") has stimulated an interest in wetting of real (rough and chemically heterogeneous) surfaces. In spite of the fact that wetting has been exposed to intensive research for more than 200 years, there still is a broad field open for theoretical and experimental research, including recently revealed superhydrophobic, superoleophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces, so-called liquid marbles, wetting transitions, etc. This book integrates all these aspects within a general framework of wetting of real surfaces, where physical and chemical heterogeneity is essential. Wetting of rough/heterogeneous surfaces is discussed through the use of the variational approach developed recently by the author. It allows natural and elegant grounding of main equations describing wetting of solid surfaces, i.e. Young, Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter equations. The problems of superhydrophobicity, wetting transitions and contact angle hysteresis are discussed in much detail, in view of novel models and new experimental data.