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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: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Monday April 16 2018, @12:06PM (2 children)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Monday April 16 2018, @03:08PM (1 child)
I just want it on my glasses, my phone, and my monitors.
Maybe my toilet, too. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:39AM
I want my toilet treated with this!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @12:18PM (3 children)
Sounds like Teflon, another fluorinated plastic. Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene ) is plenty slippery but fairly soft. Teflon is also relatively expensive compared to other plastics. I wonder what this new stuff will cost when used in volume manufacturing? And fluorine is not the best stuff to work with, will there be environmental problems?
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Monday April 16 2018, @12:25PM (1 child)
They want to give it to our kids right away!
About as close as I can get you on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silsesquioxane [wikipedia.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @12:47PM
> They want to give it to our kids right away!
Rush it to market because the cost of keeping kid-stuff clean might bankrupt the country?
How long was BPA (for just one example of a nasty chemical) used in food containers before it was identified as something to be avoided? Personally, we have glass storage containers for leftovers...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bob_super on Monday April 16 2018, @04:18PM
2040 : Despite the denials by US industry lobbyists, there is growing evidence from independent researchers that the miracle coating can be linked to many forms of cancer.
Just kidding ... about 2040 and the existence of independent researchers. Or US industry. Or US. Pick your fate, and enjoy your sure-to-be-found-toxic miracle.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Bobs on Monday April 16 2018, @12:50PM (2 children)
I wonder how durable this is in marine environments, what the friction coefficient is, and how toxic?
Could be a nice way to speed up some watercraft.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday April 16 2018, @06:11PM (1 child)
Ideally it would be durable enough in marine environments, that we will never be able to get it out of the ocean. And never be able to get it off plants that are vital food for various organisms.
If you had a truly Omniphobic "coating", that won't stick to anything, then how does it "stick" to the object you are coating?
For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.
(Score: 2) by Bobs on Monday April 16 2018, @09:31PM
True, but I believe there is a phase change when it goes from a liquid to a solid.
(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.
And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until every story is commented upon!
This sig for rent.
(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.
For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.
(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!
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Monday April 16 2018, @06:25PM
Put it on the bus and train seats.
"rancid randy has a dialogue with herself[...] Somebody help him!" -- Anonymous Coward.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Monday April 16 2018, @06:37PM (2 children)
Cool, finally re-usable condoms.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Booga1 on Monday April 16 2018, @07:02PM
Where's the "Ew, no" mod?
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday April 17 2018, @04:34AM
We had those in the 60s. When I was in college. Let me tell you, they're much thicker than the disposable. Not as fun. But much safer. And if you washed them, they were cheaper. I could afford disposables. But sometimes I went with the washables, depending on the girl. The girls that were on the Pill were very popular!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:10AM
When I read the word "omniphobic" I expect a deflector shield.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:21PM
It would have been cheaper for them to send him to Hamburg, buy him a few beers and tell him to pee against a certain wall.