ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 25 July 2022

Sec. Nanobiotechnology

Volume 10 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.926253

Intelligent Nanomaterials for Solar Energy Harvesting: From Polar Bear Hairs to Unsmooth Nanofiber Fabrication

  • 1. Department of Postgraduates, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China

  • 2. School of Mathematics and Information Science, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China

  • 3. National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

  • 4. School of Textile and Garment, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China

Article metrics

View details

34

Citations

3,8k

Views

961

Downloads

Abstract

Polar bears can live in an extremely cold environment due to their hairs which possess some remarkable properties. The hollow structure of the hair enables the bear to absorb energy from water, and the white and transparent hairs possess amazing optical properties. However, the surface morphology function of bear hairs has been little-studied. Herein, we demonstrate that the micro-structured scales distributed periodically along the hair can absorb maximal radiative flux from the Sun. This polar bear hair effect has the ability for the hair surface not to reflect radiation with a wavelength of about 500 nm. Mimicking the polar bears’ solar performance in the fabrication of nanofibers will certainly stimulate intelligent nanomaterials for efficient solar energy absorption. Therefore, a new technology is discussed in this work for the fabrication of periodic unsmooth nanofibers toward solar energy harvesting.

Introduction

Recently, various devices have been developed for energy harvesting, such as the nanofluids (He and Elazem, 2022), the spring-pendulum systems (Wu et al., 2018; He et al., 2022a), and the low-frequency vibration systems (Zhang and Cai., 2012; He C.-H. et al., 2021; He et al., 2022b). In addition to the abovementioned methods, the nanotechnology for solar energy harvesting (Satharasinghe et al., 2020) is totally new and is quite promising. Though solar energy harvesting has attracted much attention due to the inexhaustible green energy, its efficiency is relatively low. Interestingly, some natural animals have a special ability to absorb solar energy with extremely high efficiency, benefiting from the amazing surface morphology of their hairs, for example, the wolverine (gulo-gulo) hair (Liu et al., 2018).

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest predator in the Arctic region. As a kind of marine mammal, the animal is born on land but spends most of its time in the sea to absorb energy from water through its hairs (He et al., 2011; Jia et al., 2017). In order to survive in a harsh environment as low as −50°C in the Arctic, this huge animal has an extensive fat layer of up to 10 cm and bulky furs, which help protect against the cold surrounding. Polar bear fur consists of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs, which are transparent and white in color (Bechshøft et al., 2012; Dietz et al., 2013). The white hairs contribute to camouflaging the bear in the snow and ice-covered environment (Ferguson et al., 1998; Stegmaier et al., 2009). As a protein fiber, the polar bear hair is not much different in appearance from other protein fibers such as the wool fiber (Fan et al., 2019) and down fiber (Yang et al., 2011). Much attention has been paid to the optical properties (Lavigne and Øritsland, 1974bib_Lavigne_and_Øritsland_1974; Grojean et al., 1980 and 1981; Koon, 1998) and chemical properties of polar bear hairs, and many biomimetic designs were proposed, including thermally insulating fabrics (Cui et al., 2018), textile solar light collectors (Bahners et al., 2008), and polar bear hair–based solar sensors (Tributsch et al., 1990). Many researchers have studied hair cortisol concentration (Mislan et al., 2016), which is considered a biomarker. Furthermore, the morphology and structure, especially the hollow structure of polar bear hairs, have also been studied extensively (Zhang et al., 2009). The fractal theory is a useful tool to reveal its biomechanism (Wang et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2018). However, energy absorption with regards to the scale distribution on polar bear hairs has not been studied yet, and this study intends to state its energy absorption based on the hair’s morphology. Many research studies have revealed that the graphene distribution in a composite affected its properties greatly (Zuo and Liu, 2021; Zuo, 2021). Geometry is always the main factor affecting materials’ properties (He, et al., 2021b) so that the energy absorption property of the polar bear hair.

Materials and Methods

Nano-scale surface morphology greatly affects a surface’s chemistry property (Marmur, 2004; Li X.-X. et al., 2021), friction property (Cao et al., 2021; Bains et al., 2020), and reflection property (Selkowitz 2021). According to the geometric potential theory (Peng and He, 2020; Han and He, 2021), a nano-scale surface can produce high geometric potential. It was reported that Fangzhu’s nano-scale surface can collect water molecules from the air (He and El-Dib, 2021; Wu et al., 2021). Gecko adhesion and the mimicking smart adhesion can also be explained by its nano-scale spatulas (Wang et al., 2019; Li et al., 2020). Here, an experiment is designed to study the nano-scale surface morphology of polar bear hairs.

Experimental Materials

The hair was obtained from a 2-year-old male polar bear in the Laohutan Pole Aquarium in Dalian, China. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, 1750 ± 50) was purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China).

Experimental Instruments

The JEOL JSM-5600LV scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a magnification of 18-300,000 (Japan Electronics Co. Ltd.) and the S-4800 field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) (Hitachi Ltd., Japan) with resolutions of 1.0 nm (15 kV), 2.0 nm (1 kV), and 1.4 nm (1 kV, Deceleration mode) were used in our experiment. The scale density (scale/mm) and scale thickness on the hair surface were measured through the SEM images.

Experimental Process

First, we rinsed the samples with distilled water to remove debris from their surface. Second, the samples were washed with 0.1 M phosphate buffer three times (15 min per time). Third, the samples were fixed on the sample stage and sprayed in the ion sputter instrument. Finally, the samples were evaluated under the SEM and FE-SEM. In the electrospinning process, the PVA was dissolved in an aqueous solution (8 wt%) at 98°C for 4 h. The spinning parameters were as follows: the voltage was 20 kV, and the collector distance was 25 cm. After the spinning process, the resulting membrane was stretched with a draw ratio of 1.5 times. The draw process was carried out using a universal testing machine (Instron 3,365, Instron, Norwood, MA) (gauge length: 20 mm and cross-head speed: 0.2 mm/s) at 25 ± 0.5°C and 60 ± 5% relative humidity.

Nanoscale Surface Morphology

Before studying the polar bear hair effect, we give a brief introduction to the moth-eye, which can absorb all night light (Wilson and Hutley, 1982). This property is important for the nocturnal insect to escape from predators.

Figure 1 is the schematic diagram of the moth-eye effect. The height of protuberances is about h = 220 nm, and the diameter of the microtrichia is about d = 200 nm.

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1

Schematic diagram of the moth-eye effect (Nosonovsky and Bhushan,2013).

It was reported that the reflectance is very low for wavelengths (Nosonovsky and Bhushan, 2013), meaning that the wavelengths between 440 and 550 nm are all absorbed by the nocturnal insect.

The surface geometry of the moth eye is periodic, and it was used for the biomimetic design of an optically transparent microwave absorber with a periodic array of properly shaped glass caps (Kwon et al., 2021). A similar phenomenon occurs in the polar bear hair, and we carried out an experiment to study the morphology of the hair surface.

Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the morphology of the polar bear hair surface structure. Figures 2A–C are SEM images of the same hair at the magnifications × 1,000, × 2,000 and × 5,000, respectively. Figure 3 shows the FE-SEM of the polar bear hair surface structure. As we can see from Figures 2 and 3, the surface of polar bear hair fibers is not smooth, and there is a scale structure similar to the surface of wool fibers. Meanwhile, these figures also show that the polar bear hair fibers were covered with periodic scales in regular shapes. Scale density was relatively small, 70–90 scales/mm, and the scale edges seemed to be wavy or serrated. The scales are thicker at the top, and the scale thickness is about 0.5 µm.

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2

Polar bear hair surface structure by SEM with different magnifications (A) ×1,000, (B) ×2,000, and (C) ×5,000.

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 3

Polar bear hair surface structure by FE-SEM (A-C) different locations on the hair surface.

Similar to the moth effect (Nosonovsky and Bhushan, 2013), polar bear hair enables the animal to absorb as much energy as possible from natural light. According to Figures 2 and 3, polar bear hair can be geometrically illustrated, as shown in Figure 4.

FIGURE 4

FIGURE 4

Schematic diagram of the polar bear hair effect.

The periodicity of the surface morphology of polar bear hair is similar to that of the moth eye and also shows a similar optical property to absorb light energy. Polar bear hairs are white and transparent to convert light energy to its body. The hair surface morphology (Figure 4) can increase transmission and reduce reflection. If the thickness of the scales is almost equal to the light wavelength (Nosonovsky and Bhushan, 2013), the light will not be reflected. Our experimental data reveal that the scale thickness is about 500 nm, corresponding to the spectrum of 500 nm wavelength. According to the laws of radiative heat transfer, the radiative flux from the Sun maximizes at a wavelength of about 0.5 μm (Scamarcio et al., 1997; Thuillier et al., 2003) (Figure 5). The polar bear hair effect is the ability of a micro-structured optical surface not to reflect light with the highest energy.

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 5

Maximal solar spectral irradiance at 500 nm wavelength.

The general approaches to fabricating smooth nanofibers are electrospinning (Gao et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2021) and bubble electrospinning (He and Qian, 2022; Qian and He, 2022). However, Lin, et al., 2021 suggested a general strategy for the fabrication of unsmooth nanofibers. Yao and He (2020) used the geometric potential theory to control the surface morphology of nanofibers. These references suggested that the unsmooth nanofibers can be fabricated by the electrospinning method. Here, inspired by the natural polar bear, a new technology is discussed for the fabrication of periodic unsmooth nanofibers for solar energy harvesting (Liu et al., 2015). As shown in Figure 6, the resulting PVA nanofibers were endowed with peculiar morphology with a periodic unsmooth surface after being stretched (Figure 6A). The bulges with a diameter of about 80 nm were successfully constructed and periodically spread along the nanofiber axis (Figure 6A), exhibiting a similar appearance to natural bamboo (Figure 6B). The mutational surface morphology from a smooth surface to a bamboo-like unsmooth surface by the stretching method suggests a promising strategy to mimic the polar bear’s solar performance in the fabrication of intelligent nanomaterials for efficient solar energy–absorption.

FIGURE 6

FIGURE 6

(A) Morphology of the periodic unsmooth PVA nanofiber. (B) Schematic diagram of the periodic bamboo-like unsmooth PVA nanofiber.

The nanofibers with a periodic unsmooth surface are potentially of great technological interest for the development of solar energy absorption, and their other applications include invisibility devices, electronic sensors, applied surface science, photonics, physics, microelectronics, nanomaterials, advanced textile, photothermo-promoted nanocatalysis, photothermal semiconduction, photoactivatable cancer immunotherapy, and environmental science (Li et al., 2019; Li X. et al., 2021; Li J. et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2021). We anticipate that this article will be a starting point for more sophisticated studies of intelligent nanomaterials for solar energy harvesting for solar cells (Pavlovic et al., 2021; Alshikhi and Kayfeci 2022) or solar collector systems (Al-Rabeeah et al., 2022). The periodic structure of nanomaterials via bioinspiration for energy gives many promises and great challenges (Gong et al., 2019).

Conclusion

Similar to the moth-eye effect, polar bear hair characteristics along the longitudinal direction were studied by means of SEM and FE-SEM, respectively. The result shows that the micro-structured scales distributed periodically along the hair can absorb maximal radiative flux from the Sun. Mimicking the polar bear’s solar energy harvesting property, we fabricated nanofibers with a periodic unsmooth surface, which exhibits the potential of stimulating intelligent nanomaterials for efficient solar energy absorption. The bio-mimic design of solar energy materials by bubble electrospinning can be used in the infrared stealth technology. Polar bear hair–inspired biomaterials with selective light absorption will attract much attention in the future.

Statements

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Author contributions

J-HH conceptualized the study. QW performed the experiments. J-HH, QW, and ZL analyzed and processed the data. QW and ZL wrote and reviewed the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

References

  • 1

    Al-RabeeahA. Y.SeresI.FarkasI. (2022). Recent Improvements of the Optical and Thermal Performance of the Parabolic Trough Solar Collector Systems. FU Mech. Eng.20 (1), 073094. 10.22190/FUME201106030A

  • 2

    AlshikhiO.KayfeciM. (2022). Experimental Investigation of Using Graphene Nanoplatelets and Hybrid Nanofluid as Coolant in Photovoltaic Thermal Systems. Therm. Sci.26 (1), 195208. 10.2298/TSCI200524348A

  • 3

    BahnersT.SchlosserU.GutmannR.SchollmeyerE. (2008). Textile Solar Light Collectors Based on Models for Polar Bear Hair. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells92 (12), 16611667. 10.1016/j.solmat.2008.07.023

  • 4

    BainsP. S.GrewalJ. S.SidhuS. S.KaurS.SinghG. (2020). Surface Modification of Ring-Traveler of Textile Spinning Machine for Substantiality. FU Mech. Eng.18 (1), 031042. 10.22190/FUME190623005B

  • 5

    BechshøftT. Ø.RigétF. F.SonneC.LetcherR. J.MuirD. C. G.NovakM. A.et al (2012). Measuring Environmental Stress in East Greenland Polar Bears, 1892-1927 and 1988-2009: What Does Hair Cortisol Tell Us?Environ. Int.45, 1521. 10.1016/j.envint.2012.04.005

  • 6

    CaoH.TianY.MengY. (2021). A Fracture-Induced Adhesive Wear Criterion and its Application to the Simulation of Wear Process of the Point Contacts Under Mixed Lubrication Condition. FU Mech. Eng.19 (1), 023038. 10.22190/FUME210108021C

  • 7

    CuiY.GongH.WangY.LiD.BaiH. (2018). A Thermally Insulating Textile Inspired by Polar Bear Hair. Adv. Mat.30 (14), 1706807. 10.1002/adma.201706807

  • 8

    DietzR.RigétF. F.SonneC.BornE. W.BechshøftT.McKinneyM. A.et al (2013). Three Decades (1983-2010) of Contaminant Trends in East Greenland Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus). Part 1: Legacy Organochlorine Contaminants. Environ. Int.59, 485493. 10.1016/j.envint.2012.09.004

  • 9

    FanJ.YangX.LiuY. (2019). Fractal Calculus for Analysis of Wool Fiber: Mathematical Insight of its Biomechanism. J. Eng. Fibers Fabr.14. 14. 10.1177/1558925019872200

  • 10

    FergusonS. H.TaylorM. K.BornE. W.MessierF. (1998). Fractals, Sea-Ice Landscape and Spatial Patterns of Polar Bears. J. Biogeogr.25, 10811092.

  • 11

    GaoL.WangY.XuL. (2021). Mechanism Study of Highly Ordered Jets in an Improved Electrospinning Process. Therm. Sci.25 (3B), 23272334. 10.2298/TSCI200124122G

  • 12

    GongC.SunS.ZhangY.SunL.SuZ.WuA.et al (2019). Hierarchical Nanomaterials via Biomolecular Self-Assembly and Bioinspiration for Energy and Environmental Applications. Nanoscale11 (10), 41474182. 10.1039/C9NR00218A

  • 13

    GrojeanR. E.SousaJ. A.HenryM. C. (1980). Utilization of Solar Radiation by Polar Animals: An Optical Model for Pelts. Appl. Opt.19 (3), 339346. 10.1364/AO.19.000339

  • 14

    GrojeanR. E.SousaJ. A.HenryM. C. (1981). Utilization of Solar Radiation by Polar Animals: An Optical Model for Pelts; Authors' Reply to an Alternative Explanation. Appl. Opt.20 (11), 18961897. 10.1364/AO.20.001896

  • 15

    HanC.HeJ.-H. (2021). Effect of Fabric Surface's Cleanliness on its Moisture/Air Permeability. Therm. Sci.25 (2B), 15171521. 10.2298/TSCI2102517H

  • 16

    HeJ. H.ElazemN. Y. A. (2022). The Carbon Nanotube-Embedded Boundary Layer Theory for Energy Harvesting. Facta Univ-Ser Mech.1. 1. 10.22190/FUME220221011H

  • 17

    HeJ.-H.El-DibY. O. (2021). Homotopy Perturbation Method with Three Expansions for Helmholtz-Fangzhu Oscillator. Int. J. Mod. Phys. B35 (24), 2150244. 10.1142/S0217979221502441

  • 18

    HeJ.-H.QianM.-Y.LiY. (2022). The Maximal Wrinkle Angle During the Bubble Collapse and its Application to the Bubble Electrospinning. Front. Mat.8, 800567. 10.3389/fmats.2021.800567

  • 19

    HeJ.-H.WangQ.-L.SunJ. (2011). Can Polar Bear Hairs Absorb Environmental Energy?Therm. Sci.15 (3), 911913. 10.2298/TSCI1103911H

  • 20

    HeC.-H.LiuC.HeJ.-H.GepreelK. A. (2021a). Low Frequency Property of a Fractal Vibration Model for a Concrete Beam. Fractals29 (05), 2150117. 10.1142/S0218348X21501176

  • 21

    HeC.-H.LiuS.-H.LiuC.Mohammad-SedighiH. (2022b). A Novel Bond Stress-Slip Model for 3-D Printed Concretes. Discret Cont Dyn-S15, 1669. 10.3934/dcdss.2021161

  • 22

    HeC.-H.AmerT. S.TianD.AbolilaA. F.GalalA. A. (2022a). Controlling the Kinematics of a Spring-Pendulum System Using an Energy Harvesting Device. J. Low Freq. Noise, Vib. Act. Control. 1. 1. 10.1177/14613484221077474

  • 23

    HeJ.-H.MoatimidG. M.ZekryM. H. (2022b). Forced Nonlinear Oscillator in a Fractal Space. FU Mech. Eng.20 (1), 001020. 10.22190/FUME220118004H

  • 24

    JiaH.GuoJ.ZhuJ. (2017). Comparison of the Photo-Thermal Energy Conversion Behavior of Polar Bear Hair and Wool of Sheep. J. Bionic Eng.14 (4), 616621. 10.1016/S1672-6529(16)60427-4

  • 25

    KoonD. W. (1998). Is Polar Bear Hair Fiber Optic?Appl. Opt.37 (15), 31983200. 10.1364/AO.37.003198

  • 26

    KwonH.D’AguannoG.AlúA. (2021). Optically Transparent Microwave Absorber Based on Water-Based Moth-Eye Structures. Opt. Express29 (6), 91909198. 10.1364/oe.418220

  • 27

    LavigneD. M.ØritslandN. A. (1974). Black Polar Bears. Nature251 (5472), 218219. 10.1038/251218b0

  • 28

    LiJ.CuiD.HuangJ.HeS.YangZ.ZhangY.et al (2019). Organic Semiconducting Pro‐Nanostimulants for Near‐Infrared Photoactivatable Cancer Immunotherapy. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.58, 1268012687. 10.1002/ange.20190628810.1002/anie.201906288

  • 29

    LiX.LiY.LiY.HeJ. (2020). Gecko-Like Adhesion in the Electrospinning Process. Results Phys.16, 102899. 10.1016/j.rinp.2019.102899

  • 30

    LiX.-X.TianD.HeJ.-H. (2021a). High Energy Surface as a Receptor in Electrospinning: A Good Switch for Hydrophobicity to Hydrophilicity. Therm. Sci.25 (3), 22052212. 10.2298/TSCI191120107L

  • 31

    LiX.SunH.LiH.HuC.LuoY.ShiX.et al (2021b). Multi‐Responsive Biodegradable Cationic Nanogels for Highly Efficient Treatment of Tumors. Adv. Funct. Mater.31 (26), 2100227. 10.1002/adfm.202100227

  • 32

    LiJ.YuX.JiangY.HeS.ZhangY.LuoY.et al (2021c). Second Near‐Infrared Photothermal Semiconducting Polymer Nanoadjuvant for Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy. Adv. Mat.33 (4), 2003458. 10.1002/adma.202003458

  • 33

    LinL.LiuY.-Q.LiY.-Y.ShenY.HeJ.-H. (2021). Fabrication of PVDF/PES Nanofibers with Unsmooth Fractal Surfaces by Electrospinning: A General Strategy and Formation Mechanism. Therm. Sci.25, 12871294. 10.2298/TSCI191201024L

  • 34

    LiuZ.SunQ.-L.HeJ.-H. (2015). Fabrication of Unsmooth Bamboo-Like Nanofibers. Therm. Sci.19 (4), 14501451. 10.2298/TSCI1504450L

  • 35

    LiuH.BahiA.KoF. K. (2018). A One Dimensional Heat Transfer Model for Wolverine (Gulo-Gulo) Hair. Ijcst30, 548558. 10.1108/IJCST-08-2017-0108

  • 36

    LiuL.LiuY.-Q.LiY.-Y.ShenY.HeJ.-H. (2021). Dropping in Electrospinning Process: A General Strategy for Fabrication of Microspheres. Therm. Sci.25, 12951303. 10.2298/TSCI191228025L

  • 37

    MarmurA. (2004). The Lotus Effect: Superhydrophobicity and Metastability. Langmuir20 (9), 35173519. 10.1021/la036369u

  • 38

    MislanP.DerocherA. E.St. LouisV. L.RichardsonE.LunnN. J.JanzD. M. (2016). Assessing Stress in Western Hudson Bay Polar Bears Using Hair Cortisol Concentration as a Biomarker. Ecol. Indic.71, 4754. 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.06.034

  • 39

    NosonovskyM.BhushanB. (2013). Multiscale Dissipative Mechanisms and Hierarchical Surfaces: Friction, Superhydrophobicity, and Biomimetics. Beijing, China: Peking University Press.

  • 40

    PavlovicA.FragassaC.BertoldiM.MikhnychV. (2021). Thermal Behavior of Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: A Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the ModuleEncapsulation Materials. J. Appl. Comput. Mech.7 (3), 18471855. 10.22055/JACM.2021.37852.3101

  • 41

    PengN.-b.HeJ.-h. (2020). Insight into the Wetting Property of a Nanofiber Membrane by the Geometrical Potential. Nanotec.14 (1), 6470. 10.2174/1872210513666191120104149

  • 42

    QianM.-Y.HeJ.-H. (2022). Collection of Polymer Bubble as a Nanoscale Membrane. Surfaces Interfaces28, 101665. 10.1016/j.surfin.2021.101665

  • 43

    SatharasingheA.Hughes-RileyT.DiasT. (2020). A Review of Solar Energy Harvesting Electronic Textiles. Sensors20 (20), 5938. 10.3390/s20205938

  • 44

    ScamarcioG.CapassoF.SirtoriC.FaistJ.HutchinsonA. L.SivcoD. L.et al (1997). High-Power Infrared (8-Micrometer Wavelength) Superlattice Lasers. Science276 (5313), 773776. 10.1126/science.276.5313.773

  • 45

    SelkowitzS. (2021). Reflections on Surface Morphology. Nat. Energy6 (5), 456457. 10.1038/s41560-021-00835-4

  • 46

    StegmaierT.LinkeM.PlanckH. (2009). Bionics in Textiles: Flexible and Translucent Thermal Insulations for Solar Thermal Applications. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A367, 17491758. 10.1098/rsta.2009.0019

  • 47

    ThuillierG.HerséM.FoujolsT.PeetermansW.GillotayD.SimonP. C.et al (2003). The Solar Spectral Irradiance from 200 to 2400 Nm as Measured by the SOLSPEC Spectrometer from the ATLAS and EURECA Missions. Sol. Phys.214 (1), 122. 10.1023/A:1024048429145

  • 48

    TributschH.GoslowskyH.KüppersU.WetzelH. (1990). Light Collection and Solar Sensing Through the Polar Bear Pelt. Sol. Energy Mat.21 (2-3), 219236. 10.1016/0165-1633(90)90056-7

  • 49

    WangQ.-L.LiZ.-B.KongH.-Y.HeJ.-H. (2015). Fractal Analysis of Polar Bear Hairs. Therm. Sci.19, 143144. 10.2298/TSCI15S1S43W

  • 50

    WangQ.ShiX.HeJ.-H.LiZ. B. (2018). Fractal Calculus and its Application to Explanation of Biomechanism of Polar Bear Hairs. Fractals26 (06), 1850086. 10.1142/S0218348X1850086X

  • 51

    WangC.XuL.LiuG.RenY.LvJ.GaoD.et al (2019). Smart Adhesion by Surface Treatment Experimental and Theoretical Insights. Therm. Sci.23 (4), 23552363. 10.2298/TSCI1904355W

  • 52

    WilsonS. J.HutleyM. C. (1982). The Optical Properties of ‘Moth Eye’ Antireflection Surfaces. Opt. Acta Int. J. Opt.29 (7), 9931009. 10.1080/713820946

  • 53

    WuY.QiuJ.ZhouS.JiH.ChenY.LiS. (2018). A Piezoelectric Spring Pendulum Oscillator Used for Multi-Directional and Ultra-Low Frequency Vibration Energy Harvesting. Appl. Energy231, 600614. 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.082

  • 54

    WuP.LingW.LiX.HeX.XieL. (2021). Dynamics Research of Fangzhu's Nanoscale Surface. J. Low Freq. Noise, Vib. Act. Control41, 479487. 10.1177/14613484211052753

  • 55

    Shu YangS.Weidong YuW.Ning PanN. (2011). Fractal Phenomenon in Sound Absorbing Behavior of Down Fiber Assembly. Text. Res. J.81 (11), 11391144. 10.1177/0040517511398949

  • 56

    YangZ.LuoY.HuY.LiangK.HeG.ChenQ.et al (2021). Photothermo‐Promoted Nanocatalysis Combined with H 2 S‐Mediated Respiration Inhibition for Efficient Cancer Therapy. Adv. Funct. Mat.31 (8), 2007991. 10.1002/adfm.202007991

  • 57

    YaoX.HeJ.-H. (2020). On Fabrication of Nanoscale Non-Smooth Fibers with High Geometric Potential and Nanoparticle's Non-Linear Vibration. Therm. Sci.24 (4), 24912497. 10.2298/TSCI2004491Y

  • 58

    ZhangY.CaiC. S. (2012). A Retrofitted Energy Harvester for Low Frequency Vibrations. Smart Mat. Struct.21 (7), 075007. 10.1088/0964-1726/21/7/075007

  • 59

    ZhangH. J.ChenZ.ZhuY. L.DuZ. Q.YuW. D. (2009). Characterization for Hair Morphology and Structure of Cold-Resistant Animals. J. Xi’an Polytech. Univ.23 (2), 333339. 10.13338/j.issn.1674-649x.2009.02.073

  • 60

    ZuoY.-T.LiuH.-J. (2021). Fractal Approach to Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Graphene/Sic Composites. FU Mech. Eng.19 (2), 271284. 10.22190/FUME201212003Z

  • 61

    ZuoY. T. (2021). Effect of SiC Particles on Viscosity of 3-D Print Paste: A Fractal Rheological Model and Experimental Verification. Therm. Sci.25 (3B), 24052409. 10.2298/tsci200710131z

Summary

Keywords

biomimetic, polar bear hair, energy absorption, selective light absorption, moth-eye effect, bubble electrospinning

Citation

Wang Q, He J-H and Liu Z (2022) Intelligent Nanomaterials for Solar Energy Harvesting: From Polar Bear Hairs to Unsmooth Nanofiber Fabrication. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 10:926253. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.926253

Received

22 April 2022

Accepted

16 May 2022

Published

25 July 2022

Volume

10 - 2022

Edited by

Yu Luo, Shanghai University of Engineering Sciences, China

Reviewed by

Jinfa Ming, Qingdao University, China

Jamal Zare, Shahrekord University, Iran

Mohammad Malikan, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Ji-Huan He, ; Zhi Liu,

This article was submitted to Nanobiotechnology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Outline

Figures

Cite article

Copy to clipboard


Export citation file


Share article

Article metrics