Fluorine-free omniphobic slippery surfaces made of PDMS-like molecules: surface structure and wetting properties
Abstract
Surfaces covered with omniphobic coatings are investigated for many applications from anti-icing, anti-corrosive to self-cleaning uses as they allow droplets of many liquids to easily slide without pinning. To this end, PDMS-like molecules can be grafted onto glass substrates by specific process conditions 1,2. These molecules are supposedly covalently grafted to the substrate, leading to the fabrication of omniphobic surfaces with low sliding angles and low hysteresis (< 10°) for a broad range of liquids. By studying the influence of the fabrication process on the surface structure and wetting properties (contact angles CA, hysteresis CAH and sliding angles SA) of the coated substrate, we highlight here the key features that lead to a highly slippery PDMS-based coating.