Facile Fabrication and Self-Cleaning Performance of a Liquid-Like Transparent Slippery Coating

To address the challenges of surface contamination on glass, poor durability of conventional self-cleaning coatings, and the resulting loss of optical transmittance, this work reports on a transparent slippery coating based on a “liquid-like” interface design. The coating was constructed on glass via chemical grafting using an aminosilane coupling agent and monoglycidyl ether-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This formed a cross-linked Si–O–Si network with covalently anchored flexible PDMS brushes, creating a stable liquid-like interface. Owing to the rapid rotation and conformational changes of PDMS segments that endow the surface with liquid-like mobility, the coating exhibited excellent slippery properties with visible-light transmittance above 90%, a water contact angle of 90.2°–110.5°, and a sliding angle of 7.5–9.7. Furthermore, the coating displayed significant repellency toward various liquids with surface tensions ranging from 21.8 to 72.75 mN/m. Under harsh environmental conditions, including a broad temperature range (20°C–90°C), wide pH range (1–14), and high salt concentrations (≤ 250 g/L), the coating maintained stable wetting behavior and slippery performance. Additionally, it demonstrated good UV resistance mechanical wear durability, and efficient self-cleaning capability in simulated contamination experiments. This study provides a feasible material design and fabrication strategy for developing transparent self-cleaning coatings with high performance and long-term durability.