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    Straightforward Approach for Preparing Durable Antibacterial ZnO Nanoparticle Coatings on Flexible Substrates
    (Basel : MDPI, 2022) Šutka, Andris; Mežule, Linda; Denisova, Viktorija; Meier-Haack, Jochen; Kulkarni, Akshay; Bitina, Sanda; Smits, Krisjanis; Vihodceva, Svetlana
    Flexible antibacterial materials have gained utmost importance in protection from the distribution of bacteria and viruses due to the exceptional variety of applications. Herein, we demonstrate a readily scalable and rapid single-step approach for producing durable ZnO nanoparticle antibacterial coating on flexible polymer substrates at room temperature. Substrates used are polystyrene, poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) copolymer, poly(methyl methacrylate), polypropylene, high density polyethylene and a commercial acrylate type adhesive tape. The deposition was achieved by a spin-coating process using a slurry of ZnO nanoparticles in toluene. A stable modification layer was obtained when toluene was a solvent for the polymer substrates, namely polystyrene and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate). These coatings show high antibacterial efficiency causing >5 log decrease in the viable counts of Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia. coli and Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in 120 min. Even after tapping these coated surfaces 500 times, the antibacterial properties remained unchanged, showing that the coating obtained by the presented method is very robust. In contrast to the above findings, the coatings are unstable when toluene is not a solvent for the substrate.
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    A Holistic Solution to Icing by Acoustic Waves: De-Icing, Active Anti-Icing, Sensing with Piezoelectric Crystals, and Synergy with Thin Film Passive Anti-Icing Solutions
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2023) del Moral, Jaime; Montes, Laura; Rico‐Gavira, Victor Joaquin; López‐Santos, Carmen; Jacob, Stefan; Oliva‐Ramirez, Manuel; Gil‐Rostra, Jorge; Fakhfouri, Armaghan; Pandey, Shilpi; Gonzalez del Val, Miguel; Mora, Julio; García‐Gallego, Paloma; Ibáñez‐Ibáñez, Pablo Francisco; Rodríguez‐Valverde, Miguel Angel; Winkler, Andreas; Borrás, Ana; González‐Elipe, Agustin Rodriguez
    Icing has become a hot topic both in academia and in the industry given its implications in transport, wind turbines, photovoltaics, and telecommunications. Recently proposed de-icing solutions involving the propagation of acoustic waves (AWs) at suitable substrates may open the path for a sustainable alternative to standard de-icing or anti-icing procedures. Herein, the fundamental interactions are unraveled that contribute to the de-icing and/or hinder the icing on AW-activated substrates. The response toward icing of a reliable model system consisting of a piezoelectric plate activated by extended electrodes is characterized at a laboratory scale and in an icing wind tunnel under realistic conditions. Experiments show that surface modification with anti-icing functionalities provides a synergistic response when activated with AWs. A thoughtful analysis of the resonance frequency dependence on experimental variables such as temperature, ice formation, or wind velocity demonstrates the application of AW devices for real-time monitoring of icing processes.