Superhydrophobic Modification of Biomass Cuttlebone Applied to Oil Spill Remediation.

The spills of crude oil and other organic chemicals are common around the world, resulting in severe damage to the environment and ecosystem. Therefore, developing low-cost and eco-friendly absorption material is in urgent need. In this study, we report a superhydrophobic and oleophilic porous material using biomass cuttlebone as the scaffold. A layer of polydopamine is grafted on the cuttlebone as the adhesion layer between the cuttlebone and the superhydrophobic coating. The in situ grown silica micro/nanoparticles on top of the adhesion layer provide the anchoring spots for grafting the fluorinated hydrocarbon and a rough topography for realizing superhydrophobicity. The static water contact angle of the superhydrophobic cuttlebone reaches 152°, and its oil contact angle is ~0°. The excellent oil-water separation efficiency of the prepared superhydrophobic cuttlebone is demonstrated using high-density oil/water mixtures and low-density oil/water mixtures.

Heat capacity of 3He in aerogel.

The heat capacity of pure 3He in low density aerogel is measured at 22.5 bars. The superfluid response is simultaneously monitored with a torsional oscillator. A slightly rounded heat capacity peak, 65 microK in width, is observed at the 3He-aerogel superfluid transition, T(ca). Subtracting the bulk 3He contribution, the heat capacity shows a Fermi-liquid form above T(ca). We can fit the heat capacity attributed to superfluid within the aerogel with a rounded BCS form accounting for 0.30 of the nonbulk fluid in the aerogel, or by assuming a substantial reduction in the superfluid order parameter. Both approaches are consistent with earlier superfluid density measurements.