Biomimetic self-slippery and transferable transparent lubricant-infused functional surfaces

Abstract

Self-slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) have been presented owing to their enormous number of potential applications and have widely attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. In comparison with superhydrophobic surfaces, SLIPSs not only exhibit interfacial performance that corresponds to superhydrophobicity but also do not require the construction of a complicated and delicate morphology. Here, a facile strategy has been proposed for constructing silica SLIPSs. Three common lubricants (perfluoropolyethers, liquid paraffin and ethyl oleate) were employed in this study. Using a facile brush process, the surface can be coated on a substrate, and, after infusion of the lubricant, the transformation from superhydrophobicity to self-slippage properties can be achieved. In addition, changing the kind of lubricant and adjusting the amount of nanoscale hybrid silica particles in the coating solution can modulate the surface transparency and interfacial characteristics, which makes the surface meet the various requirements of different service conditions. This transferable performance endows the surface with the possibility of meeting the various requirements of different conditions and demonstrates the enormous value of the application of the coatings in many fields.