Researchers in China have taken inspiration from fish scales and skeleton flowers to make a transparent underwater surface that stays clean by repelling oil.
Light scattering means that many synthetic oil-repellent surfaces are opaque, limiting their use. A transparent, oil-repellent surface would have applications in biology and underwater optics, including in diving goggles and cameras. Now, Feng Chen’s research group at Xi’an Jiaotong University has developed such a material.
Interested? The full story can be read at Chemistry World.
In air (a) the surface is misty but underwater (b) it has high transparency and repels oil
The original article can be read below:
Bioinspired transparent underwater superoleophobic and anti-oil surfaces
Jiale Yong, Feng Chen, Qing Yang, Guangqing Du, Chao Shan, Hao Bian, Umar Farooq and Xun Hou
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5TA01104C
