title: Anisotropically functionalized carbon nanotube array based hygroscopic scaffolds.
abstract: Creating ordered microstructures with hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that enable the collection and storage of small water droplets from the atmosphere, mimicking structures that exist in insects, such as the Stenocara beetle, which live in environments with limited amounts of water. Inspired by this approach, vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube forests (NTFs) are asymmetrically end-functionalized to create hygroscopic scaffolds for water harvesting and storage from atmospheric air. One side of the NTF is made hydrophilic, which captures water from the atmosphere, and the other side is made superhydrophobic, which prevents water from escaping and the forest from collapsing. To understand how water penetrates into the NTF, the fundamentals of water/NTF surface interaction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Sehmus
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozden
authors.forename: Liehui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Tharangattu N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Narayanan
authors.forename: Amelia H C
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Hyunseung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Srividya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sridhar
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vajtai
authors.forename: Pulickel M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ajayan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon