Liquid Repellency Research Articles

Liquid repellency enhancement through flexible microstructures.

Artificial liquid-repellent surfaces have attracted substantial scientific and industrial attention with a focus on creating functional topological features; however, the role of the underlying structures has been overlooked. Recent developments in micro-nanofabrication allow us now to construct a skin-muscle type system combining interfacial liquid repellence atop a mechanically functional structure. Specifically, we design surfaces comprising bioinspired, mushroom-like repelling heads and spring-like flexible supports, which are realized by three-dimensional direct laser lithography. The flexible supports elevate liquid repellency by resisting droplet impalement and reducing contact time. This, previously unknown, use of spring-like flexible supports to enhance liquid repellency provides an excellent level of control over droplet manipulation. Moreover, this extends repellent microstructure research from statics to dynamics and is envisioned to yield functionalities and possibilities by linking functional surfaces and mechanical metamaterials.

One‐Step Fabrication of Universal Slippery Lubricated Surfaces

AbstractAmong the various liquid‐repellent surfaces studied in recent times, lubricant‐impregnated surfaces (LISs) with a mobile lubricant top surface exhibit distinctive liquid repellency. For the fabrication of LISs with stable lubricant impregnation, there are two surface requirements: i) a porous/textured structure and ii) a hydrophobic surface. These limitations require complex processes to be overcome and impede the fabrication of a variety of potential substrates. Herein, a stable and homogeneous lubricant thin layer fabricated by a simple one‐step heating process is introduced on a nonhydrophobic surface with no porous/textured structures. Since the reaction minimizes the interfacial energy, a surface with a stable mobile lubricant thin layer, named “lubricated surface” (LuS), is fabricated. The LuS exhibits outstanding liquid repellency, anti‐biofouling properties against bacteria, and anticorrosivity for metals, along with excellent self‐healing characteristics. Additionally, the LuS can be applied on various materials and structures, including completely flat, nonporous surfaces. These superior virtues of the LuS can open new pathways for the production of universal slippery lubricant thin films for various potential applications.

Superamphiphobic plastrons on wood and their effects on liquid repellence

The increasing utilization of wood-based products raises new demands for improved durability, for example an enhanced liquid repellence. Superhydrophobic or superamphiphobic surfaces have been widely fabricated. Less attention has been paid to such modifications on wood and the changes of its hygroscopic or solvoscopic properties. In this work, wood veneers were surface modified by hydrophobized silicone nanofilaments. Results revealed that the surface-modified wood showed a superamphiphobic behavior, i.e. it repelled water, ethylene glycol and hexadecane with contact angles greater than 150° and roll-off angles of less than 10°. Most importantly, a plastron effect was observed when the surface-modified wood was submerged in water, ethylene glycol or hexadecane, which reduced the liquid sorption rate and extent to various degrees. By comparing the measured permeabilities and the estimated diffusive mass flux and supported by Hansen solubility parameters and the degrees of swelling, it is concluded that diffusion is the major cause for the liquid uptake in the surface-modified wood. Moreover, the interaction between the liquid and the modified layer (the solubility of the liquid in the modified layer) also needs to be considered, especially in hexadecane.

Facile Fabrication of Slippery Lubricant-Infused CuO-Coated Surfaces with Different Morphologies for Efficient Water Collection and Excellent Slippery Stability.

How to prepare multifunctional surfaces with high nucleation density and fast droplet removal during droplet condensation remains a challenge. It is believed that a water droplet on a superhydrophobic surface (SHS) in the Cassie state is inclined to convert to the Wenzel state under high-pressure or high-humidity conditions, which results in the pinning effect. Hence, it is necessary to form thermodynamically stable lubricant-infused surfaces (LISs) to be applied in water condensation, especially under extreme working conditions. In this work, CuO LISs with two different morphologies (chrysanthemum-like and dandelion-like structures) in the slippery state were prepared and the effect of surface morphology on water harvesting behavior was investigated. The results indicated that dandelion-like CuO consisting of nanoneedles exhibited inferior water harvesting behavior compared to chrysanthemum-like CuO consisting of nanolamellas due to worse lubricating oil loss. Furthermore, the strong intermolecular forces between the perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricating oil and perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT)-modified coating resulted in a durable lubricating layer, which exhibited favorable anti-icing, anticorrosion, and liquid repellency even under strong acid and alkali conditions, high shear force rate up to 7000 rpm, and long-time ultraviolet light irradiation for 12 h. This work paves the path for efficient droplet nucleation and removal, which has potential in water harvesting in arid regions and water condensation for power generation.

Anti-biofouling NH3 gas sensor based on reentrant thorny ZnO/graphene hybrid nanowalls

Since toxic gas leakage may cause ecological environmental problems and even life-threatening damage, effective monitoring of toxic gas is of great importance and subject to increasing demand. However, complicated environmental factors, as well as various coexisting interferences can easily affect the sensitivity and selectivity of gas sensors, hindering their performance. Recent reports have successfully demonstrated the development of hierarchical nanostructures with desirable self-cleaning properties, yet gas sensors that can resist contamination have rarely been realized. Here, we developed a reentrant thorny ZnO/graphene hybrid nanowall structure that simultaneously repels liquid contamination and possesses NH3 gas sensing properties. The unique reentrant and hierarchical structure, featuring an interconnected vertical graphene nanowall framework with numerous ZnO nanospikes branched on the top nanowall, is highly repellent to liquids, even biofluids with low surface tension. The hierarchical structure consisting of gas sensing graphene and ZnO can be successfully applied as an NH3 gas sensor at room temperature, exhibiting not only excellent sensitivity, selectivity, and repeatability, but also outstanding stability even after bacterial contamination. This study provides a versatile method for fabricating reentrant and hierarchical structures with excellent liquid repellency, and offers a promising method for designing reliable gas sensors with anti-biofouling properties.

Tunable wetting surfaces with interacting cavities via femtosecond laser patterning and wet etching

This paper presents the production of bioinspired slippery glass surfaces with interacting cavities via wet-etching-assisted femtosecond laser fabrication. A femtosecond laser irradiates a glass surface to fabricate microvoid arrays inside the substrate. Then, wet etching is performed to induce microcavities on the sample surface. With laser-induced selective etching, the region below the substrate surface is etched faster, thereby developing microcavities. The microvoid separation distance is found to be important for controlling the contact angle (CA) of the liquid wetting the surface. By choosing an adequate microvoid separation distance and etching time, interacting/interconnected cavities can be successfully fabricated. CAs are expected to be tuned from almost 0° to 137° ± 2.5° based on the cavity separation distance and the processes used (laser patterning, etching, and silanization). These interconnected structures fabricated with small separation distances (e.g., 10 μm) can lock in an infused lubricating liquid and form a stable, inert, slippery interface, known as a slippery liquid-infused porous surface, which acts as a smooth cushion for liquid repellence. Moreover, the infused liquid can significantly increase the transmittance owing to the index matching effect. Such slippery surfaces could be used in several self-cleaning, optical-sensing, and biomedical applications.

Hierarchical Ti3C2Tx MXene/Ni Chain/ZnO Array Hybrid Nanostructures on Cotton Fabric for Durable Self-Cleaning and Enhanced Microwave Absorption.

The increasing demand for wearable electronics and the intensification of electromagnetic pollution have boosted the exploration of high-performance flexible microwave absorption (MA) materials. Herein, the hierarchical Ti3C2Tx MXene/Ni chain/ZnO array hybrid nanostructures are rationally constructed on cotton fabric for acquiring enhanced MA performance and durable self-cleaning ability. Based on the high dielectric loss capacity of MXenes and ZnO arrays, by controlling dip-coating numbers of Ni chains, the magnetic loss can be manipulated to modulate the impedance matching, reflection loss (RL), and effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, the bandwidth of RL < -10 dB). The minimum RL value of the designed fabric can reach -35.1 dB at 8.3 GHz with a thickness of 2.8 mm, and its EAB can cover the whole X-band with only a 2.2 mm thickness. In addition, the designed fabric also exhibits superior liquid repellency and durable self-cleaning ability due to the combination of the hybrid nanostructures and a superhydrophobic coating. This work provides an insight for rational design of textile-based MA materials, showing potential applications in flexible and wearable functional electronics.

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

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.

WO3-Based Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces with Long-Term Stability.

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) inspired by Nepenthes pitcher plants exhibit excellent hydrophobicity, antifouling and anti-icing properties, and long-term durability under pressure and temperature. SLIPS have potential applications including in biomedical devices, self-cleaning structures, and water-resistant coatings. A big challenge posed by SLIPS is the durability of the lubricant in the porous layer. Herein, uniform tungsten oxide nanofiber networks were synthesized on the surface of stainless steel through a simple one-step hydrothermal method. WO3 nanofiber networks on stainless steels were chemically modified, filled with a lubricant, and prepared as SLIPS with excellent liquid repellency and good anti-biofouling properties. The relationship of the nanostructures and the slippery properties of the obtained WO3-based SLIPS have been investigated in detail in this work. The liquid retention and long-term stability of the SLIPS were characterized using high shear force and water flow impact. We found that the long-term durability of the SLIPS is strongly related to the diameters and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of the WO3 nanostructures. The durability of the SLIPS is better when the diameter of the WO3 nanostructures is smaller. The WO3-based SLIPS prepared in this work exhibit outstanding slippery property, anti-biofouling, and long-term stability under extreme conditions such as high shear rate and water washing and thus may have potential application for surface modification of medical devices in the future.

Covalently grafted liquids for transparent and omniphobic surfaces via thiol-ene click chemistry

Here, a robust omniphobic slippery surface with excellent transparency was fabricated on ultrasmooth glass by thiol-ene click chemistry without pretextured rough structure. The original glass after alkaline hydrothermal treatment could form massive hydroxyl group, which acted as the reactive sites could occur dehydration condensation reaction with the 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane. Then, the vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) covalently grafted onto the mercapto-modified glass via the facile and efficient thiol-ene click chemistry. The prepared surface exhibited superior transparency, omniphobicity and anti-fouling property. Moreover, the tethered PDMS monolayer displayed durable liquid-repellent property after long-term storage in high/low temperature, UV irradiation, water impaction and mechanical abrasion tests. Thus, such covalent grafting strategy for constructing omniphobic and transparent coatings without the assistant of the textured rough structure could promote the advancement of interfacial antiwetting materials. A highly transparent omniphobic coating was prepared by covalently grafting of vinyl-terminated PDMS onto the mercapto-modified surface via a thiol-ene click reaction. This PDMS-silicone oil-grafted surface exhibited high transparency and performed good antifouling property and liquid repellency even to the ethanol. Furthermore, the covalent grafting strategy endows the lubricating layer with excellent stability and mechanical durability to various external destructions.

Fabrication of coral-reef structured nano silica for self-cleaning and super-hydrophobic textile applications

Non wettable surfaces have attracted attention for their promising potential in anti-fouling and self-cleaning applications. However, the complex fabrication and loss of super-hydrophobicity because of poor durability have restricted their commercial applications. To address these issues, a robust super-hydrophobic surface was fabricated through construction of a coral-reef like fibrous structure, followed by adhesive-assisted dip coating. Wrinkled fibrous nano silica (WFNS) was synthesized using the Winsor III system. WFNS having hierarchal surface and enhanced surface area was modified by salinizing agent and by coated on various substrates. This fibrous structure aids to minimize the water/solid interface resulted to achieve the super-hydrophobic surface with a water contact angle of 167°. To impart mechanical and chemical robustness, an adhesive-assisted approach was used. The as-prepared surface maintained a remarkable super-hydrophobicity even after mechanical and chemical stresses. The prepared super-hydrophobic surface illustrated excellent anti-fouling performance against corrosive liquids and an antimycotic property. The combination of liquid repellency and exceptional robustness exhibited indicates the WFNS as a promising candidate for super-hydrophobic and self-cleaning applications.

Green Fabrication of a Multifunctional Sponge as an Absorbent for Highly Efficient and Ultrafast Oil-Water Separation.

Oil leakage results in serious environmental pollution and severe waste of resources, which makes the development of low-cost, environmentally friendly, high-capacity, and durable oil absorbents an urgent task. In this paper, superhydrophobic coatings of activated carbon (AC)–TiO2–PDMS@PDMS were developed without using any fluorine-containing reagents. The TiO2 particles were grown on the AC surface to form AC–TiO2 powders. The hydrophilic AC–TiO2 powders were further grafted with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molecules (AC–TiO2–PDMS) to achieve superhydrophobicity through covalent reaction between PDMS and TiO2 under UV light. The AC–TiO2–PDMS powder was mixed with a PDMS polymer to form a superhydrophobic coating solution, which made the commercial sponge obtain durable superhydrophobicity. It showed high liquid repellency and antifouling ability toward various liquids and drinks. Taking advantage of the large surface area and high absorption capacity of AC, the coated sponge showed superior high absorption capacity (up to 100–158 g/g) toward various oils and organic solvents with a high absorption speed. Besides, the sponge showed high reusability that could be repeatedly used to absorb various oils and organic solvents. Moreover, the sponge also presented photocatalytic capability, which could repeatedly photodegrade the oil contaminants without influencing the superhydrophobicity, therefore largely increasing the recyclability and lifetime of the sponge. It also could separate immiscible oil–water mixtures with high efficiency and continuously remove oils from water. It was chemically stable and mechanically durable and could resist various harsh conditions without losing its superhydrophobicity. This study developed a facile, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly method to fabricate very promising absorbents for large-scale oil and solvent cleanups and recovery.

Predicting bio-inspired candidate surfaces with superomniphobic characteristics

We report the development and application of a refined version of the classical Cassie-Baxter wetting model for the prediction of surface topographies with superomniphobic traits. The sagging height defined through the capillary length was utilized to assess the relation between a curved liquid-air interface and the surface texture. The wettability, expressed in terms of the static apparent contact angle, was quantified for single- and double-scale surface topographies and for three representative liquids and the results were compared to those of the classical Cassie-Baxter model. Of the three single-scale topographies considered in this work, the fiber case exhibited the highest contact angle across length scales of surface topographies, whereas decreasing the length scale of surface patterns from a few hundreds of micrometers to a few hundreds of nanometers led to contact angle increase by 15%–20%. A generic expression for modeling multiscale hierarchical roughness of arbitrarily large multiplicity n was derived and applied. Multiscale hierarchical roughness was corroborated to be a promising way for achieving enhanced liquid repellency. Double-scale roughness was more efficient when the two length scales differed in size by at least one order of magnitude. The ‘fiber on sinusoid’ hierarchical topography exhibiting re-entrant geometry yielded contact angles over 150° for all considered wetting liquids.

Processing and characterizations of Short fluoroalkyl chain /polyurethane- polylactic acid/low melt polylactic acid Janus nonwoven Medical covers using spray coating

Medical product contamination is a seriously threatens patients’ health. However, few studies on the protective properties of nonwoven medical covers have been conducted. This work aims to develop bioenvironmentally friendly novel Janus polylactic acid (PLA)/low melt polylactic acid (LMPLA) nonwoven medical covers with asymmetric wettability and excellent mechanical, and abrasion resistance while maintaining outstanding breathability performance. The Janus fabrics have a dual structure with hydrophilic PLA/LMPLA nonwoven fabrics and hydrophobic short fluoroalkyl chain polymers/polyurethane membranes. Janus textiles are prepared through needle punch/ hot press bonding manufacturing and spray coating. The subsequent nonwoven fabrics exhibit an outstanding wettability gradient that offers the excellent protective performance of inner-layer liquid absorption to prevent flowback and outer-layer liquid repellence. Furthermore, the coating increases the tensile strength and abrasion resistance (of the fabrics by 2.5 times those of a previously reported PU coating reported in published paper). This kind of nonwoven fabrics is suggested to be a promising candidate for medical covers and health supplies.

Is There a Relationship between Surface Wettability of Structured Surfaces and Lyophobicity toward Liquid Metals?

The liquid metal lyophobicity of a rough substrate was, in previous articles, found to be rather independent on the surface wettability. In this article, we scrutinize the impact of surface wettability of a structured (rough) surface on the liquid metal wettability and adhesion. As a model system, a structured diamond coating was synthesized and modified by air plasma. We show that surface wettability (surface free energy) does not play a prominent role for static contact angle measurements and for the liquid metal repelling properties of the diamond coating in droplet impact experiments. In contrast, roll off angles and repeated deposition experiments illustrate that the increased hydrophilicity impacts the long-term liquid metal repellency of our coating. Liquid metal adhered after around 50 deposition/removal cycles on the hydrophilic diamond coating, while no liquid metal adhesion was visible after 100 cycles on the hydrophobic diamond coating, illustrating the fundamental role for the adhesion of liquid metal. The effect of repeated deposition in conjunction with gentle applied force was employed for coating the liquid metal lyophobic (hydrophilic) diamond coating with a thin liquid metal layer. The observed effect may find application in flexible electronics and thermal management systems as a means to improve interfacing of the liquid metal with conductive non-metal coatings.

Fluoride removal from water using ceramic based adsorbent prepared from spent mosquito repellent liquid vaporiser rods

ABSTRACT A new adsorbent has been tested which is prepared from the recycled material for the fluoride removal from water. The spent mosquito repellent liquid vaporiser rod/wick has been collected and carbonised to cleanse from any other substance already present on it. The need for low cost, easy maintenance and capacity to remove impurities even at low concentration inspired to use these recyclable ceramic rods. Fluoride adsorption characteristics were studied in the batch system. Effects of parameters like potential of H+, stirring speed, adsorbent dose, contact time and also initial F¯ ions concentration were tested. Optimum conditions for experimental data revealed that the adsorbent showed maximum F¯ ions removal of 80% at 5 mg/L F¯ concentration at pH 7. At stirring speed of 300 rpm, 8 g/L adsorbent dose and 180 minutes maximum F¯ ions removal was observed and remained constant even after increment in parameters. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were interpreted from the data for fluoride removal and maximum adsorption capacity of 16.69 mg/g was obtained from Langmuir isotherm. The adsorbent prepared has obeyed the Freundlich isotherm more than Langmuir. In addition to this, in kinetic studies it has been found that adsorption reaction followed pseudo-second order reaction kinetics. Several advantages of ceramics enhance adsorbent as effective medium i.e. granular structure, more surface area along with cost effective preparation from rods.

Under oil open-channel microfluidics empowered by exclusive liquid repellency.

Recently, the functionality of under oil open microfluidics was expanded from droplet-based operations to include lateral flow in under oil aqueous channels. However, the resolution of the under oil fluidic channels reported so far is still far from comparable with that of closed-channel microfluidics (millimeters versus micrometers). Here, enabled by exclusive liquid repellency and an under oil sweep technique, open microchannels can now be prepared under oil (rather than in air), which shrinks the channel dimensions up to three orders of magnitude compared to previously reported techniques. Spatial trapping of different cellular samples and advanced control of mass transport (i.e., enhanced upper limit of flow rate, steady flow with passive pumping, and reversible fluidic valves) were achieved with open-channel designs. We apply these functional advances to enable dynamic measurements of dispersion from a pathogenic fungal biofilm. The ensemble of added capabilities reshapes the potential application space for open microfluidics.

Springtail-Inspired Superamphiphobic Ordered Nanohoodoo Arrays with Quasi-Doubly Reentrant Structures.

The skin of springtails is well-known for being able to repel water and organic liquids using their hexagonally arranged protrusions with reentrant structures. Here, a method to prepare 100 nm-sized nanohoodoo arrays with quasi-doubly reentrant structures over square centimeters through combining the nanosphere lithography and the template-protected selective reactive ion etching technique is demonstrated. The top size of the nanohoodoos, the intra-nanohoodoo distance, and the height of the nanohoodoos can be readily controlled by the plasma-etching time of the polystyrene (PS) spheres, the size of the PS spheres used, and the reactive ion etching time of silicon. The strong structural control capability allows for the study of the relationship between the nanohoodoo structure and the wetting property. Superamphiphobic nanohoodoo arrays with outstanding water/organic liquid repellent properties are finally obtained. The superamphiphobic and liquid repellent properties endow the nanohoodoo arrays with remarkable self-cleaning performance even using hot water droplets, anti-fogging performance, and the surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensitivity improvement by enriching the analyte molecules on the nanohoodoo arrays. Overall, the simple and massive production of the superamphiphobic nanohoodoo structures will push their practical application processes in diverse fields where wettability and liquid repellency need to be carefully engineered.

Enhanced omniphobicity of mullite hollow fiber membrane with organosilane-functionalized TiO2 micro-flowers and nanorods layer deposition for desalination using direct contact membrane distillation

In this study, a novel omniphobic mullite hollow fiber membrane (HFM) was successfully fabricated to reduce the fouling and wetting propensity of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The surface of the mullite hollow fiber membrane was functionalized with flower-like (FL) and rod-like (RL) TiO2 rough layer. Then, surface fluorination was carried out using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (97%) (C8). The modified mullite hollow fiber membrane, which was initially hydrophilic in nature, exhibited high liquid repellency towards water and low surface tension liquids such as ethylene glycol (47.3 mN/m) and olive oil (32 mN/m). The order of the membranes in terms of wetting resistance for low surface tension liquids is as follows: C8-FL/TiO2-HFM > C8-RL/TiO2-HFM > C8-HFM. The omniphobic membrane that was fabricated with TiO2 micro-flowers (C8-FL/TiO2-HFM) was the only membrane that exhibited superomniphobic properties towards ethylene glycol (~150°) and was nearly superomniphobic towards olive oil (~140°). In addition, the formation of air layers was observed on submerged C8-FL/TiO2-HFM and C8-RL/TiO2- HFM, which was proven to significantly reduce organic fouling even after 500 min of DCMD with an aqueous NaCl (3.5%) feed solution containing humic acid (10 mg/L). At the macroscopic level, no significant fouling was observed for the C8-FL/TiO2-HFM. This could be attributed to the hierarchical structure induced by TiO2 micro-flowers, which played a critical role in achieving excellent anti-fouling properties. This has also translated into the high flux stability of the C8-FL/TiO2-HFM. Rise in permeate conductivity was observed for the C8-HFM but not for C8-FL/TiO2-HFM and C8-RL/TiO2- HFM. These results suggest that the fabricated omniphobic mullite hollow fiber membrane with flower-like structure is promising for a robust DCMD process, even for the desalination of real seawater that contains organic contaminants.

Passive Removal of Highly Wetting Liquids and Ice on Quasi-Liquid Surfaces.

Surfaces with ultralow adhesion to liquids and solids have attracted broad interests in both fundamental studies and engineering applications from passive removal of highly wetting liquids and water harvesting to anti-/de-icing. The current state-of-the-art superomniphobic surfaces (rely on air lubricant) and liquid-infused surfaces (rely on liquid lubricant) suffer from severe issues for liquid repellency and ice removal: air/liquid lubricant loss or topography damage. Here, we create a durable quasi-liquid surface by tethering flexible polymer on various solid substrates. The untethered end of the polymer has mobile chains that behave like a liquid layer and greatly reduce the interfacial adhesion between the surface and foreign liquids/solids. Such a quasi-liquid surface with a 30.1 nm flexible polymer layer shows ultralow contact angle hysteresis (≤1.0°) to liquids regardless of their surface tensions. The highly wetting perfluorinated liquids like FC72 and Krytox101, as well as complex fluids like urine and crude oil, can be repelled from the surface. Moreover, wind can remove accreted ice from the surface in harsh conditions due to the negligible ice adhesion. We have demonstrated that the quasi-liquid surface shows robust performances in repelling highly wetting liquids, harvesting water, and removing ice, respectively.