Citation: Lingyao Zhang, Chunhui Zhang, Yingjia Sun, Qinglin Yang, Ziwei Guo, Xiaoqi Wang, Kang Wang, Lin Zhang, Kesong Liu, Shichao Niu, Cunming Yu, Lei Jiang. Bioinspired underwater gas diffusion enhanced by superaerophilic stripe[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(5): 111720. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111720 shu

Bioinspired underwater gas diffusion enhanced by superaerophilic stripe

Lingyao Zhang ^a ,
Chunhui Zhang ^{b, c, *,} ,
Yingjia Sun ^a ,
Qinglin Yang ^a ,
Ziwei Guo ^a ,
Xiaoqi Wang ^d ,
Kang Wang ^d ,
Lin Zhang ^d ,
Kesong Liu ^{a, e, f, *,} ,
Shichao Niu ^g ,
Cunming Yu ^{a, *,} ,
Lei Jiang ^{b, c}

a.
Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
b.
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
c.
Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou 215123, China
d.
PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
e.
Tianmushan Laboratory, Hangzhou 310023, China
f.
School of Materials Design and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Beijing 100029, China
g.
The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

zhangchunhui18@mails.ucas.edu.cn

liuks@buaa.edu.cn

ycmbhs@iccas.ac.cn

Received Date: 28 April 2025
Revised Date: 11 August 2025
Accepted Date: 12 August 2025
Available Online: 13 August 2025

Figures(4)

Regulating gas diffusion is essential for a range of natural and industrial processes, including underwater breathing, aeration reactor and energy device. Natural organisms, e.g., water boatman, utilize their superaerophilic (SAL) abdomen to create a plastron underwater, enabling efficient gas exchange with dissolved oxygen. Herein, inspired by nature, we have developed a superaerophilic stripe that can form an air film underwater to enhance gas diffusion. Increasing the width (w) of the superaerophilic stripe and height (h) of water, along with decreasing the distance between the bubble and the stripe (d), can improve gas diffusion. Due to the improved dissolved gas diffusion, an efficient hydrogen evolution reaction driven by enhanced H₂ diffusion was successfully achieved, resulting in an electrode potential decrease ~13 mV at the same current density of 1 mA/cm² compared to that without the SAL stripe. This research offers important theoretical insights into the dynamics of gas diffusion and presents practical methods for enhancing gas mass transfer.
- Gas mass transfer,
- Bioinspired superaerophilic surface,
- Bubble dynamics,
- Gas diffusion,
- Hydrogen evolution reaction
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