International. A new transparent coating makes ordinary glass hard, self-cleaning and very slippery. A team from Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biology-Inspired Engineering recently reported the development.
The new coating can be used to create more durable and scratch-resistant eyeglass lenses, self-cleaning windows, improved solar panels and new medical diagnostic devices.
The coating was called by the university team as Slippery - Porous Surfaces of Infused Liquid (Slips). The new coating is equally slippery, but more resistant and fully transparent. Together, these advances solve long-standing problems about creating commercially useful materials that repel almost everything.
Slips was inspired by the polishing strategy of the carnivorous plant, which attracts insects on the "ultraslippery" surface of its leaves, which slide towards their perdition. The product repels oil and sticky liquids such as honey, and resists the formation of ice and bacterial biofilms.
