A simple and universal strategy for liquid-like coating suitable for a broad range of liquids on diverse substrates

Liquid-like PDMS brushes coating with low adhesion to droplets are significant in both fundamental research and practical application. Covalent grafting is a common strategy to prepare PDMS brushes with low adhesion to diverse liquids in a wide range of surface tensions, but it is only suitable for high active inorganic substrates. Casting of mixtures containing PDMS can solve this problem; however, homogeneity and low adhesion cannot be guaranteed. Here we report a simple method by step-by-step spraying for preparing PDMS brushes, which is suitable for both substrates. Droplets with a wide range of surface tension can slide off the coating with a sliding angle less than 10°. Research results indicate that the polyamine with flexible molecular chain and high functionality is beneficial for brushes coating with high grafting density and excellent surface lubricity. Finally, good stability and diverse applications in fouling resistance, self-cleaning, anti-bursting, etc. are also demonstrated.