Multifunctional Edible Oil-Impregnated Nanoporous Oxide Layer on AISI 304 Stainless Steel

Slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) realized on commercial materials provides various functionalities, such as corrosion resistance, condensation heat transfer, anti-fouling, de/anti-icing, and self-cleaning. In particular, perfluorinated lubricants infused in fluorocarbon-coated porous structures have showed exceptional performances with durability; however, they caused several issues in safety, due to their difficulty in degradation and bio-accumulation. Here, we introduce a new approach to create the multifunctional lubricant-impregnated surface with edible oils and fatty acid, which are also safe to human body and degradable in nature. The edible oil-impregnated anodized nanoporous stainless steel surface shows a significantly low contact angle hysteresis and sliding angle, which is similar with general surface of fluorocarbon lubricant-infused systems. The edible oil impregnated in the hydrophobic nanoporous oxide surface also inhibits the direct contact of external aqueous solution to a solid surface structure. Due to such de-wetting property caused by a lubricating effect of edible oils, the edible oil-impregnated stainless steel surface shows enhanced corrosion resistance, anti-biofouling and condensation heat transfer with reduced ice adhesion.

Automated summary

By using edible oils and fatty acids, we have successfully created a multifunctional lubricant-impregnated surface with low contact angle hysteresis and sliding angle similar to fluorocarbon lubricant-infused systems. The edible oil impregnated surface also inhibits the direct contact of external aqueous solution to a solid surface structure, resulting in enhanced corrosion resistance, anti-biofouling, and condensation heat transfer with reduced ice adhesion.