University System of Maryland

Purdue Research Foundation

Tian Li

Liangbing Hu

Jianwei Song

Mingwei Zhu

Chaoji Chen

Amy Gong

Robert M Briber

Chunpeng Yang

Xin Zhang

Meiling Wu

Yonggang Yao

He Liu

Yanbin Wang

Ziyang Huang

Arezoo Ardekani

Yiju Li

Yudi Kuang

Qinqin Xia

Ruiyu Mi

A system is provided for generating a microfluidic channel. The system may include a co-flow generator having a delivery tube configured to provide a support liquid. The co-flow generator may include a coupling having an outlet configured to provide an epoxy resin. The delivery tube may be centrally positioned in the outlet of the coupling such that the delivery tube and the outlet together eject a co-flow of epoxy and support liquid into a tubular shell. The system may further include a conductive ring defining a hole through which the tubular shell extends. Heating the conductive ring causes or hastens curing of the epoxy resin to form a micro-channel defined by the cured epoxy around the support liquid.

System and methods for high resolution microfluidic channel fabrication via co-phase flow enabled additive manufacturing

A system and methods for heating and cooling are provided. The system may include an energy collector and an adaptive panel connected to the energy collector. The adaptive panel may a radiative cooling layer configured to dissipate heat from the energy collector. The radiative cooling layer may further include a thermo-responsive polymer configured to adjust transparency depending on temperature. The system may include a solar heating layer configured to absorb solar irradiation that passes through the radiative cooling layer and transfer heat to the energy collector.

Energy efficient and adaptive space cooling and heating system

Highly transparent (up to 92% light transmittance) wood composites have been developed. The process of fabricating the transparent wood composites includes lignin removal followed by index-matching polymer infiltration resulted in fabrication of the transparent wood composites with preserved naturally aligned nanoscale fibers. The thickness of the transparent wood composite can be tailored by controlling the thickness of the initial wood substrate. The optical transmittance can be tailored by selecting infiltrating polymers with different refractive indices. The transparent wood composites have a range of applications in biodegradable electronics, optoelectronics, as well as structural and energy efficient building materials. By coating the transparent wood composite layer on the surface of GaAs thin film solar cell, an 18% enhancement in the overall energy conversion efficiency has been attained.

Transparent wood composite, systems and method of fabrication

A delignified wood material is formed by removing substantially all of the lignin from natural wood. The resulting delignified wood retains cellulose-based lumina of the natural wood, with nanofibers of the cellulose microfibrils being substantially aligned along a common direction. The unique microstructure and composition of the delignified wood can provide advantageous thermal insulation and mechanical properties, among other advantages described herein. The thermal and mechanical properties of the delignified wood material can be tailored by pressing or densifying the delignified wood, with increased densification yielding improved strength and thermal conductivity. The chemical composition of the delignified wood also offers unique optical properties that enable passive cooling under solar illumination.

Delignified wood materials, and methods for fabricating and use thereof

An ion-conducting structure comprises a metal-fibril complex formed by one or more elementary nanofibrils. Each elementary nanofibril can be composed of a plurality of cellulose molecular chains with functional groups. Each elementary nanofibril can also have a plurality of metal ions. Each metal ion can act as a coordination center between the functional groups of adjacent cellulose molecular chains so as to form a respective ion transport channel between the cellulose molecular chains. The metal-fibril complex can comprise a plurality of second ions. Each second ion can be disposed within one of the ion transport channels so as to be intercalated between the corresponding cellulose molecular chains. In some embodiments, the metal-fibril complex is formed as a solid-state structure.

Ion-conducting structures, devices including ion-conducting structures, and methods for use and fabrication thereof

Solar thermal devices are formed from a block of wood, where the natural cell lumens of the wood form an interconnected network that transports fluid or material therein. The block of wood can be modified to increase absorption of solar radiation. Combining the solar absorption effects with the natural transport network can be used for various applications. In some embodiments, heating of the modified block of wood by insolation can be used to evaporate a fluid, for example, evaporating water for extraction, distillation, or desalination. In other embodiments, heating of the modified block of wood by insolation can be used to change transport properties of a material to allow it to be transported in the interconnected network, for example, heating crude oil to adsorb the oil within the block of wood.

Wood-based solar thermal devices, and methods for fabrication and use thereof

A porous base substrate is infiltrated with a polymer material to form a hybrid substrate that combines the optical advantages of both. Prior to infiltration, the base substrate may exhibit relatively low optical transmittance. For example, the base substrate may be paper, textiles, aerogels, natural wood, or any other porous material. By infiltrating the base substrate with a polymer having a similar refractive index to that of the material of the base substrate, the transmittance can thus be improved, resulting in, for example, a transparent hybrid substrate that exhibits both relatively high optical haze and relatively high optical transmittance within the visible light spectrum. The hybrid substrate can thus serve as a base for fabricating electronic devices or can be coupled to electronic devices, especially optical devices that can take utilize the unique optical properties of the hybrid substrate.

Transparent hybrid substrates, devices employing such substrates, and methods for fabrication and use thereof

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West Lafayette, IN, United States of America

Tian Li