A University of Michigan researcher has created a coating that could be used to repel water, oil, and other substances:
In an advance that could grime-proof phone screens, countertops, camera lenses and countless other everyday items, a materials science researcher at the University of Michigan has demonstrated a smooth, durable, clear coating that swiftly sheds water, oils, alcohols and, yes, peanut butter.
Called "omniphobic" in materials science parlance, the new coating repels just about every known liquid. It's the latest in a series of breakthrough coatings from the lab of Anish Tuteja, U-M associate professor of materials science and engineering. The team's earlier efforts produced durable coatings that repelled ice and water, and a more fragile omniphobic coating. The new omniphobic coating is the first that's durable and clear. Easily applied to virtually any surface, it's detailed in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Tuteja envisions the new coating as a way to prevent surfaces from getting grimy, both in home and industry. It could work on computer displays, tables, floors and walls, for example.
[...] Ultimately, the team discovered that a mix of fluorinated polyurethane and a specialized fluid-repellent molecule called F-POSS would do the job. Their recipe forms a mixture that can be sprayed, brushed, dipped or spin-coated onto a wide variety of surfaces, where it binds tightly. While the surface can be scratched by a sharp object, it's durable in everyday use. And its extremely precise level of phase separation makes it optically clear.
Just what I needed for my keyboard, VR headset, countertop, toilet bowl, 1 gallon mayonnaise jar, t-shirts, patio deck, sailing ship, the inside of all of my body's cells, and synthetic killer bacteria.
Smooth, All-Solid, Low-Hysteresis, Omniphobic Surfaces with Enhanced Mechanical Durability (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b00521) (DX)
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(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday April 16 2018, @12:56PM (5 children)
I got near an omniphobic container. Told me: you aren't one of those dirty hippie homosexuals are you? can't stand them...
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @02:25PM (2 children)
Wow, what kind of bot are you anyway?
(Score: 4, Funny) by Bot on Monday April 16 2018, @02:30PM (1 child)
The terminator kind, don't tell any meatbag pls.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 4, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday April 16 2018, @02:53PM
Listen, and understand!
That Bot is out there.
It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 16 2018, @06:14PM (1 child)
Not to worry. Those dirty hippie homosexuals you speak of will develop an omniphobic lube. Then straight people will discover this product. It will be discovered by alien archeologists that this use turned out to be the primary application of this new technology just before the sudden decline of humanity.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday April 17 2018, @04:15AM
It happened before. The gays discovered Crisco. And everybody uses it now. Almost everybody. @VP [twitter.com] Pence doesn't use it. But @ChickfilA [twitter.com] uses it. Try their Chicken Breakfast Bowel. God Bless!