Stabilized surfactant-based membranes and methods of manufacture thereof. Membranes comprising a stabilized surfactant mesostructure on a porous support may be used for various separations, including reverse osmosis and forward osmosis. The membranes are stabilized after evaporation of solvents; in some embodiments no removal of the surfactant is required. The surfactant solution may or may not comprise a hydrophilic compound such as an acid or base. The surface of the porous support is preferably modified prior to formation of the stabilized surfactant mesostructure. The membrane is sufficiently stable to be utilized in commercial separations devices such as spiral wound modules. Also a stabilized surfactant mesostructure coating for a porous material and filters made therefrom. The coating can simultaneously improve both the permeability and the filtration characteristics of the porous material.

A method for controlling fiber cross-alignment in a nanofiber membrane, comprising: providing a multiple segment collector in an electrospinning device including a first and second segment electrically isolated from an intermediate segment positioned between the first and second segment, collectively presenting a cylindrical structure, rotating the cylindrical structure around a longitudinal axis proximate to an electrically charged fiber emitter; electrically grounding or charging edge conductors circumferentially resident on the first and second segment, maintaining intermediate collector electrically neutral; dispensing electrospun fiber toward the collector, the fiber attaching to edge conductors and spanning the separation space between edge conductors; attracting electrospun fiber attached to the edge conductors to the surface of the cylindrical structure, forming a first fiber layer; increasing or decreasing rotation speed of the cylindrical structure to alter the angular cross-alignment relationship between aligned nanofibers in adjacent layers, the rotation speed being altered to achieve a target relational angle.

Training equipment is configured for targeted muscle actuation. The training equipment contains a muscle-powered actuating element and a damping system having two components that can move in relation to one another. One of the components is operatively connected to the actuating element, such that a movement of the actuating element can be damped. A field-sensitive rheological medium and a field generation system are associated with the damping system, in order to generate and control the field strength. A damping characteristic can be influenced by the field generation system. A control system is suited and configured to control the field generation system in a targeted manner in accordance with a training parameter, such that the movement of the actuating element can be damped taking into account the training parameter.

The present invention is concerned with a dielectric material comprising a fluoropolymer, wherein at least part of the crystalline region of the fluoropolymer is in the β-phase. The dielectric material of the present invention may show relaxor-like ferroelectricity. The present invention also relates to a novel method of producing such a material, and the use of such a material in a high energy density capacitor. The method comprises layering sheets of PVDF on one another and applying pressure to the multilayer under a temperature which is preferably within 40° C. of the temperature of fusion. Further, the film is preferably quenched.

Composites comprising polymeric nanofibers, metal oxide nanoparticles, and optional surface-segregating surfactants and precursor compositions are disclosed. Also disclosed are nonwoven mats formed from the composites and methods of making and using the composites. The composites enable the deployment of nanostructured materials for water treatment within a self-contained membrane with high water fluxes, as well as a number uses.

A polymer composite membrane, a method for fabricating same, and a lithium-ion battery including same are provided. The polymer composite membrane includes a porous base membrane and a heat-resistant layer covering at least one side surface of the porous base membrane, the heat-resistant layer includes a plurality of heat-resistant sub-layers sequentially stacked, and pore-blocking temperatures of the heat-resistant sub-layers are sequentially increased from inside to outside; each of the heat-resistant sub-layers includes at least one of a first heat-resistant polymer material and a second heat-resistant polymer material, and each of the heat-resistant sub-layers is separately configured as a fiber network structure; the melting point of the first heat-resistant polymer material is not less than 200° C.; and the melting point of the second heat-resistant polymer material is not less than 100° C.

The present disclosure relates to a micro or nano porous membrane composed of a stretched membrane of a fluororesin membrane, wherein the fluororesin membrane contains sintered bodies of a plurality of core-shell particles containing fluororesins, wherein the core-shell particles include cores and shells covering outer surfaces of the cores, wherein an average particle size of the core-shell particles before being sintered is greater than or equal to 100 nm and less than or equal to 1,000 nm, wherein a ratio of a volume of the shells to a volume of the cores in the core-shell particles before being sintered is greater than or equal to 2/98 and less than or equal to 50/50, wherein a fluororesin of the cores is a tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, a tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer or a combination thereof, and a fluororesin of the shells is polytetrafluoroethylene, and wherein a first heat of fusion of the fluororesins in the core-shell particles is less than or equal to 68 J/g.

A method for controlling fiber cross-alignment in a nanofiber membrane, comprising: providing a multiple segment collector in an electrospinning device including a first and second segment electrically isolated from an intermediate segment positioned between the first and second segment, collectively presenting a cylindrical structure, rotating the cylindrical structure around a longitudinal axis proximate to an electrically charged fiber emitter; electrically grounding or charging edge conductors circumferentially resident on the first and second segment, maintaining intermediate collector electrically neutral; dispensing electrospun fiber toward the collector, the fiber attaching to edge conductors and spanning the separation space between edge conductors; attracting electrospun fiber attached to the edge conductors to the surface of the cylindrical structure, forming a first fiber layer; increasing or decreasing rotation speed of the cylindrical structure to alter the angular cross-alignment relationship between aligned nanofibers in adjacent layers, the rotation speed being altered to achieve a target relational angle.

Disclosed is a porous support including fine porous structures formed between nanofibers, wherein the fine porous structures have a porosity of 50% to 90%, a pore size of 0.01 μm to 10 μm and an air permeability of 0.01 to 7 sec/100 cc.Math.air, and the porous support has a thickness of 5 μm to 50 μm, a method of manufacturing the same and a reinforced membrane including the same.

The invention is related to a super-hydrophilic/underwater super-oleophobic attapulgite separation membrane, and a preparation method and use thereof. Monodispersed hydrophilic nanoparticulates are loaded on a surface of nanoparticles, to obtain a super-hydrophilic nanocomposite material with a micro-nanostructure. The nanocomposite material is dispersed in a mixed aqueous solution of polyacrylamide and methyl cellulose, to obtain a membrane-forming slurry after vigorous stirring. A disc-shaped porous support is infiltrated with water and placed on a horizontal surface, and then a certain volume of the membrane-forming slurry is slowly and uniformly drip-coated on a surface of the support, dried and sintered to obtain a super-hydrophilic/underwater super-oleophobic microfiltration membrane layer.