Spraying asymmetry into functional membranes layer-by-layer.
As engineers strive to mimic the form and function of naturally occurring materials with synthetic alternatives, the challenges and costs of processing often limit creative innovation. Here we describe a powerful yet economical technique for developing multiple coatings of different morphologies and functions within a single textile membrane, enabling scientists to engineer the properties of a material from the nanoscopic level in commercially viable quantities. By simply varying the flow rate of charged species passing through an electrospun material during spray-assisted layer-by-layer deposition, individual fibres within the matrix can be conformally functionalized for ultrahigh-surface-area catalysis, or bridged to form a networked sublayer with complimentary properties. Exemplified here by the creation of selectively reactive gas purification membranes, the myriad applications of this technology also include self-cleaning fabrics, water purification and protein functionalization of scaffolds for tissue engineering.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Kevin C
KC
Krogman
Joseph L
JL
Lowery
Nicole S
NS
Zacharia
Gregory C
GC
Rutledge
Paula T
PT
Hammond
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008567:Membranes, Artificial