Scalable wear resistant 3D printed slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPS)

Surface wettability is a measure of adhesion and repulsion of liquids on a material’s surface, where surface wettability may be altered by creating a new interfacial surface between the base material and the target liquid on top. Where the interface comprises of a liquid that is locked in the pores or ridges of the base material, it is then termed as liquid infused surface (LIS). LIS alters the wettability due to the distinctive properties of the interfacial liquid which now forms the new surface. If the interfacial liquid is repellent towards polar (hydrophobic) and non-polar (oleophobic) liquids, the overall surface becomes slippery (amphiphobic) and prevents any new target liquids from adhering. This phenomenon leads to the definition of slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), where this term not only describes its role but also its fabrication route. Here a two-step facile method is presented to quickly transform any 3D printable polymeric material into robust SLIPS, irrespective of the wettability properties of the original polymer. The complex geometrical porosity required for locking the interfacial liquid is achieved using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) setup. Surface wettability characteristics of the 3D printed porous structure are then enhanced by increasing the liquid-adsorption sites where the locking of the infused interfacial (repellent) liquid takes place. The SLIPS demonstrate low rolling-off (sliding) angles with both polar and non-polar solvents of up to 2 degrees with high resistance to mechanical abrasion undergoing sliding frictional wear. The robust SLIPS as produced can be quickly scaled up using existing processes used in the laboratory.