Ice-Inspired Polymeric Slippery Surface with Excellent Smoothness, Stability, and Antifouling Properties

Ice is omnipresent in our daily lifeand possesses intrinsicslipperinessas a result of the formation of a quasi-liquid layer. Thus, the functionalsurfaces inspired by ice show great prospects in widespread fieldsfrom surface lubrication to antifouling coatings. Herein, we reportan ice-inspired polymeric slippery surface (II-PSS) constructed bya self-lubricating liquid layer and a densely surface-grafted polymerbrush. The polymer brush layer could act as a homogeneous matrix tocapture lubricant molecules via strong and dynamic dipole-dipoleinteractions to form a stable quasi-liquid layer that resembles theice surface. The II-PSS can be easily fabricated on various solidsubstrates (e.g., silicon, glass, aluminum oxide, plastics, etc.)with excellent smoothness (roughness of & SIM;0.4 nm), optical transmittance(& SIM;94.5%), as well as repellence toward diverse liquids withdifferent surface tensions (22.3-72.8 mN m(-1)), pH values (1-14), salinity, and organic pollutants. Furtherinvestigation shows that the II-PSS exhibits extremely low attachmentfor proteins and marine organisms (e.g., algae and mussels) for overone month. These results demonstrate a robust and promising strategyfor high-performance antifouling coatings.