Surfaces that are resistant to wetting by a broad variety of liquids are relevant for numerous industrial applications. Omniphobic surfaces, i.e. surfaces that resist wetting by virtually all liquids, are capable of self-cleaning, chemical protection, corrosion reduction, and biofouling prevention. Such surfaces may be useful in fields ranging from enhancement of phase-change heat transfer, prevention of contamination of medical devices by biological agents, and manipulation of sub-microliter volumes of liquids. Typical non-wetting surfaces rely on one of three approaches: incorporation of re-entrant texture to entrap air beneath the liquid, incorporation of an immiscible non-volatile liquid impregnated into surface texture, or surface modification with a reactive, low surface energy molecule. These approaches each have potential drawbacks, which limit their long-term stability, durability, scalability to industrial applications, or generalizability to a wide range of substrates. In this study we have developed a novel, all-solid, omniphobic coating that can be applied on to a variety of substrate materials, rendering them repellent to most liquids. Liquids including water, hexadecane, toluene, ethanol, and silicone oil all exhibit low contact angle hysteresis (&lt;10°) on these surfaces and can easily slide off without leaving a trail.

Smooth, all-solid, omniphobic surfaces

251st National Meeting (2016)

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