Surface porous microstructured fibers with customized functionalities for 1D functional materials

Fibers have been widely used for wearable textiles and fiber-reinforced composites owing to their unique structures and performances. However, design and fabrication of 1D advanced fiber materials with diversified surface microstructures and desired functionalities is still a considerable challenge. In this study, we present a novel one-dimensional confined breath figure (1D-cBF) approach for efficient preparation of a brand-new kind of 1D continuous fibers surface-engineered with conformal honeycomb porous microstructures (F@HPMs) and a novel kind of Hybrid F@HPMs (HF@HPMs) with functional nanomaterials incorporated in porous microstructures. The obtained F@HPMs demonstrated controllable surface microstructural morphologies by adjusting the experimental variables, and the main influential factors including solvents, concentrations, polymer bricks, and substrates in the 1D-cBF process were systematically studied. Moreover, various functional nanocomponents could be incorporated for developing HF@HPMs for customized functionalities. As a demonstration, TiO2/ HF@HPMs that incorporate with TiO2 nanoparticles were fabricated for enhanced photodegradation of organic pollutants.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel method for preparing one-dimensional fibers with honeycomb porous microstructures was presented. The controllable surface microstructural morphologies of the fibers were achieved by adjusting experimental variables, and functional nanomaterials were incorporated for customized functionalities. As a demonstration, TiO2/HF@HPMs were fabricated for enhanced photodegradation of organic pollutants.