The researchers of Harvard School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biological Inspired Engineering has
created a super-slick coating known as SLIPS,
which repels nearly any substance it touches like water, ice, oil, saltwater,
wax, blood and many more.
What is the Technology behind it?
Like many of the other researches where inspiration is
coming from nature, SLIPS is also inspired by the carnivorous pitcher plant,
which locks in a water layer to create a slick coating that causes insects that
land on it to literally hydroplane and fall into the plant. The SLIPS coating
anchors a slippery lubricated film infused to a nanoporous solid surface,
creating a material that performs exceedingly well under pressure or physical
damage, and can resist all kinds of liquids, including oil.
To create a fabric with SLIPS-type functionality, the
team bought off-the-shelf cotton and polyester fabrics and chemically treat
them. One involved coating them with tiny particles of silica (SiM), and the
other required a treatment with sol-gel based alumina (SgB).
What is possible Application part of SLIPS?
While the SLIPS-fabric was not breathable yet but it
outperformed currently available stain-resistant fabrics on just about every
other measure. The most likely application of this fabric is where comes
potentially extreme environments where breathability is not paramount, but
exposure to challenging contaminating liquids and biological hazards is
involved, such as tactical suits for the military, lab coats, medical clothing,
specialty garments for construction and manufacturing, and perhaps even tents
and sports stadiums.
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