A coating that can be easily applied to various surfaces repels water and dirt, even when exposed to oil.
Other water-repellent paints stop working in oil and are easily scratched. To overcome this, Ivan Parkin at University College London and his colleagues covered titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a hydrophobic polymer and suspended the particles in ethanol.
They sprayed or painted the suspension onto hard surfaces such as glass and steel, and dipped soft fabric materials into it. The coating repelled water and dirt, and did so even after being exposed to oil. Bonding the coating to surfaces using commercial adhesives made the film resistant to scratches from a knife and sandpaper.
The material could be useful in industrial applications that involve harsh and oily environments, the authors say.
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Self-cleaning paint works in oil. Nature 519, 264–265 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/519264e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/519264e
