Whether and When Superhydrophobic/Superoleophobic Surfaces Are Fingerprint Repellent
Chengjiao Wu,
Yue Fan,
Hongxin Wang,
Juan Li,
Yuxi Chen,
Yingke Wang,
Lin Liu,
Lidan Zhou,
Shilin Huang,
Xuelin Tian
Affiliations
Chengjiao Wu
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yue Fan
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Hongxin Wang
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Juan Li
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yuxi Chen
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yingke Wang
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Lin Liu
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Lidan Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Shilin Huang
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xuelin Tian
Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite & Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Driven by the ever-increasing demand for fingerprint-resistant techniques in modern society, numerous researches have proposed to develop innovative antifingerprint coatings based on superhydrophobic/superoleophobic surface design. However, whether superhydrophobic/superoleophobic surfaces have favorable repellency to the microscopic fingerprint is in fact an open question. Here, we establish a reliable method that enables evaluating the antifingerprint capability of various surfaces in a quantitative way. We show that superhydrophobicity is irrelevant with fingerprint repellency. Regarding superoleophobic surfaces, two distinct wetting states of microscopic fingerprint residues, i.e., the “repellent” and the “collapsed” states, are revealed. Only in the “repellent” state, in which the fingerprint residues remain atop surface textures upon being pressed, superoleophobic surfaces can bring about favorable antifingerprint repellency, which correlates positively with their receding contact angles. A finger-deformation-dependent intrusion mechanism is proposed to account for the formation of different fingerprint wetting states. Our findings offer important insights into the mechanism of fingerprint repellency and will help the design of high-performance antifingerprint surfaces for diverse applications.
