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Bioinspired membranes offer an alternative approach to improving the fouling resistance of commercial membranes for oil separations. Here, two perfluoropolyether oils, a lower viscosity Krytox 103 (K103) and a higher viscosity Krytox 107 (K107), were infused into commercial polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes to mimic the Nepenthes pitcher plant. The transmembrane pressure required to perform long-term oil permeance tests was optimized by testing the liquid-infused membranes at different applied pressures. Crystal violet staining and variable pressure scanning electron microscopy qualitatively suggest that the oil layer remained on the membranes after the oil separation experiments were conducted. Over 5 cycles, K103- and K107- liquid-infused membranes exhibited a consistent permeance of ∼ 30000 L m-2h−1 bar−1 at 1.0 bar and ∼ 14500 L m-2h−1 bar−1 at 0.5 bar, respectively. The steady performance further supports a long-lasting oil layer persists on the membrane surface and inside membrane’s pores. Next, experiments were conducted to determine the stability of the Krytox oil post accelerated cleaning tests using bleach. No structural changes to the Krytox oils were detected by thermogravimetric analysis or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Dynamic fouling experiments using Escherichia coli K12 revealed that the liquid-infused membranes had higher flux recovery ratios (∼95 %) than the bare PVDF control membranes (∼55 %). Our results demonstrate that liquid-infused membranes exhibit chlorine stability and superior fouling resistance, presenting a promising bioinspired membrane that can be used in pressure-driven oil separation applications. 

To push upper boundaries of thermal conductivity in polymer composites, understanding of thermal transport mechanisms is crucial. Despite extensive simulations, systematic experimental investigation on thermal transport in polymer composites is limited. To better understand thermal transport processes, we design polymer composites with perfect fillers (graphite) and defective fillers (graphite oxide), using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a matrix model. Measured thermal conductivities of ~1.38 ± 0.22 W m⁻¹K⁻¹in PVA/defective filler composites is higher than those of ~0.86 ± 0.21 W m⁻¹K⁻¹in PVA/perfect filler composites, while measured thermal conductivities in defective fillers are lower than those of perfect fillers. We identify how thermal transport occurs across heterogeneous interfaces. Thermal transport measurements, neutron scattering, quantum mechanical modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that vibrational coupling between PVA and defective fillers at PVA/filler interfaces enhances thermal conductivity, suggesting that defects in polymer composites improve thermal transport by promoting this vibrational coupling.