vapor tagged posts

Interfacial Donor–Acceptor Nanofibril Composites for Selective Alkane Vapor Detection

Alkane fuel is a key ingredient in combustible material such as gasoline, airplane fuel, oil – even a homemade bomb. Yet it’s difficult to detect and there are no portable scanners available that can sniff out the odorless and colorless vapor. But University of Utah engineers have developed a new type of fiber composite for a handheld scanner that can detect small traces of alkane fuel vapor, a valuable advancement that could be an early-warning signal for leaks in an oil pipeline, an airliner, or for locating a terrorist’s explosive. It involves two nanofibers transferring electrons from one to the other.

“These are 2 materials that interact well together by having electrons transferring from one to an...

This is especially in situations where the water is in the form of vapor or tiny droplets. Enhancing the mobility of liquid droplets on rough surfaces has applications ranging from condensation heat transfer for heat exchangers in power plants to more efficient water harvesting in arid regions where collecting fog droplets on coated meshes provides drinking water and irrigation for agriculture to the prevention of icing and frosting on aircraft wings.

“This represents a fundamentally new concept in engineered surfaces,” said Assistant Prof Tak-Sing Wong. “Our surfaces combine the unique surface architectures of lotus leaves and pitcher plants, in such a way that these surfaces possess both high surface area and a slippery interface to enhance droplet collection and mobility...