Silicone Brushes: Omniphobic Surfaces with Low Sliding Angles

Losing contact: Omniphobic surfaces can be readily produced by acid-catalyzed graft polycondensation of dimethyldimethoxysilane (PDMS). Droplets show a very small contact angle hysteresis as well as a low sliding angle of only a few degrees. The nm-thick PDMS layer is neither easily washed away nor depleted. This method offers a novel approach towards the preparation of super-liquid-repelling surfaces.