Ultra-fast spreading on superhydrophilic fibrous mesh with nanochannels

In this paper, we fabricated a TiO2 mesh with ultra-fast spreading superhydrophilic property without UV irradiation. Through electrospinning process followed by calcinations, we obtained meshes with special micropores and nanochannels composite hierarchical structures. Each fiber exhibits a bundle structure of aligned elementary filaments with nanochannels, which should be resulted from phase separation and stretch of electrostatic force during electrospinning process. The mesh shows ultra-fast spreading property within only tens of milliseconds (ms). It is concluded that the special topography offered a multi-scale 3D capillary effect that play crucial role in ultra-fast spreading superhydrophilic property of the mesh. This study provides interesting insights to design novel materials concerning liquid transport and dissipation, which may find its way in various applications.