Slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) with superior liquid repellency, anti-corrosion, anti-icing and intensified durability for protecting substrates

Abstract

In recent years, various slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) have been reported in protection of various materials. However, these SLIPSs are restricted to specific substrates, complicated fabrication process and poor durability. Herein, natural attapulgite (APT) with existing micro-nano porous structure was selected as raw material, avoiding complex hole making process involved in the traditional SLIPSs preparation. Subsequently, a robust superhydrophobic surface (SHS) was successfully fabricated by one-step process via manipulation of both the surface roughness and surface energy through spraying suspension containing attapulgite (APT) and octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) on desired substrates. Besides, inorganic aluminum phosphate (AP) binder was selected as a building block to improve the adhesive strength between the APT and the substrates. Finally, the SLIPSs were fabricated successfully after infused the SHSs with silicone oil, which showed superior liquid repellency, anti-corrosion, anti-icing performance with intensified durability compared with the original SHSs. This facile method can be applied to protect various materials without the restriction of specific substrates, which is essential to guide the manufacture of SLIPS and expand potential applications in engineering.