Waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs) are in high demand owing to their promising applications in outdoor protective clothing, medical hygiene, and membrane distillation. Therefore, preparing WBMs with robust waterproofing, breathability, and mechanical properties is necessary. In this study, we report a simple but effective strategy for designing WBMs by combining multicomponent electrospinning with the construction of a lotus-leaf bionic hydrophobic structure. We created multi-component electrospun composite fibrous membranes with high waterproofness and breathability, comprising a spinnable polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based elastomer, polyurethane (PU), low-surface-energy fluorinated polyurethane (FPU), and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Specifically, we constructed a binary composite structure combining conventional nanofibers and beaded nanofibers via electrospinning and finally realized a lotus leaf surface structure. The lotus leaf bionic structure of the multi-component WBMs demonstrated good surface hydrophobicity and excellent mechanical elasticity. The resulting WBMs exhibited multifunctional properties with a robust hydrostatic pressure (104.7 kPa), high water contact angle (152°), good water vapor transmission rate (5.084 kg m^‒2 d^‒1), upright cup method, and tensile strength (11.4 MPa). This simple preparation process provides new ideas for the design and manufacture of waterproof and breathable films for various applications.

Oil-contaminated water is a global problem that degrades the quality of water sources and poses a threat to human health and many ecosystems. Oil spills and the discharge of oily industrial wastewater seriously damage ecological environments. Thus, research into high-efficiency, energy-saving oil/water emulsion separation membrane materials is of great significance. Inspired by the hydrophobic mechanism of lotus-leaf surface, we used electrospinning/electrospraying technology to construct oil/water separation membranes with a nanofiber/microsphere bilayer structure consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and fluorinated polyurethane (FPU). The inclusion of microspheres not only endowed the membrane material with a bilayer composite structure but greatly improved the hydrophobicity of the fiber membrane, achieving water contact angles of 150.2° and 159.1° in air and oil, respectively. Furthermore, the novel biomimetic separation membranes exhibited impressive self-cleaning performance for water-in-oil emulsions and excellent oil/water separation performance: the surfactant-stabilized Span80/diesel/water emulsion in the oil/water separation test reached 24 800 L m^‒2 h^‒1 bar^‒1 with a separation efficiency of over 99.5%. Moreover, even after 50 cycles of use, the lotus-leaf bionic separation membranes maintained their excellent oil/water separation ability, meeting long-term recycling requirements. The oil/water separation and recycling performance of the lotus-leaf bionic separation membranes demonstrate their promising application in the field of oily wastewater treatment.

To enhance the hole mobility of diketopyrrolopyrrole-quaterthiophene conjugated polymer, P(DPP-4T), where electron-deficient and electron-rich units alternate along the main chain, we synthesized a series of block copolymer based on P(DPP-4T) with electrically inert poly(styrene) (PSt) with tunable molecular weight. Hole mobilities determined by space-charge limited current measurements were enhanced by the introduction of PSt blocks confirming that our original strategy that the introduction of electrically inert block to semiconducting polymers enhances the career mobility is true for this low band gap polymer. Although the exact origin was unclear, the introduction of PSt with molecular mass of 2,000 was most effective.