Construction Methods and Application Progress of Liquid-Like Surfaces

Yan Bao; Chuang Fu; Renhao Li; Wenbo Zhang

doi:10.7536/PC20250604

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Prog Chem ›› 2025, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (12) : 1866-1876. DOI: 10.7536/PC20250604

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Construction Methods and Application Progress of Liquid-Like Surfaces

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Abstract

Liquid-like surfaces （LLS）， as novel bioinspired interfacial materials， form dynamic molecular brush interfaces through the covalent grafting of flexible polymers or alkyl molecular chains. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional superhydrophobic surfaces （SHPS） and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces （SLIPS）， which heavily rely on micro/nanostructures or external lubricants. The core advantage of LLS lies in the high mobility of its molecular chains， which significantly reduces contact angle hysteresis （CAH） and sliding angle （SA）， enabling droplet self-cleaning at minimal tilt angles or even on horizontal surfaces. This paper first elaborates on the liquid-repellent mechanism of LLS， which involves the use of flexible chains to mask substrate defects and reduce contact line pinning effects， thereby achieving dynamic droplet dewetting. Subsequently， it summarizes the three main types of LLS， including monolayers， polymer layers， and organic-inorganic hybrid layers， and analyzes the relationship between different structures and liquid-repellent performance. Next， the applications of LLS coatings in anti-icing， self-cleaning， graffiti resistance， anti-bioadhesion， directional liquid transport， anti-scaling， and membrane fouling inhibition are reviewed. Finally， the challenges faced by LLS coatings， such as mechanical durability and chemical stability， are discussed， along with future prospects for advancing multifunctional integration.

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Mechanism of liquid-like surface

3 The construction method of liquid-like surfaces

3.1 The surface of a liquid-like monolayer

3.2 The surface of liquid-like polymers

3.3 The surface of liquid-like organic-inorganic hybrid

4 Applications on liquid-like surfaces

4.1 Anti-icing

4.2 Self-cleaning

4.3 Anti-fingerprint and anti-graffiti

4.4 Anti-biofilm adhesion

4.5 Liquid directional transmission

4.6 Anti-fouling

4.7 Mitigating membrane fouling

5 Conclusion and outlook

Key words

liquid-like surfaces / liquid repellency / flexible polymer brushes / coatings

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Yan Bao , Chuang Fu , Renhao Li , et al. Construction Methods and Application Progress of Liquid-Like Surfaces[J]. Progress in Chemistry. 2025, 37(12): 1866-1876 https://doi.org/10.7536/PC20250604

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(22378253)

Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi(2024JC-YBMS-122)

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