Brush-like organic-inorganic hybrid polysiloxane surface with omniphobicity and extreme durability

In this work, a brush-like organic-inorganic hybrid omniphobic surface that immobilized polysiloxane brushes on a smooth solid surface through covalent bond was designed. Silica sol acting as prime coating was deposited on a glass surface, and then brush-like organosilicon polymer containing trimethoxy silane group was decorated on the prime layer. After thermal treatment, the surface shows omniphobic characteristic, and most liquid droplets except silicone oil, can freely slide with little sliding angle. More that, the omniphobic coating has extreme stability and its wettability hardly changed under various harsh conditions including ultraviolet radiation, hot solvent soaking, ultrasonic treatment, and even 30,000 friction cycles under 100 K Pa pressure against textiles. Furthermore, the coating has extensive applications and free from limitation of various materials, volume, size and shape. The inner wall of container, fabric, paper, wood, sands and polymer films can be covered with the omniphobic coating to demonstrate non-wetted property. Therefore, the robust omniphobic coatings have tremendous potential for widespread applications for example self-cleaning window glass.

Automated summary

This study developed a brush-like organic-inorganic hybrid omniphobic surface with extreme stability and wide application potential, maintaining wettability under harsh conditions and suitable for various materials and shapes.