Water Repellant

March 9, 2010

Cleaning up water spills could soon become a thing of the past, thanks to a new technology that makes surfaces resistant to dirt, dust and liquids. University of Florida researchers have developed a new coating modeled after the way spiders repel liquids. It turns out a spider’s microscopic hairs keep it free of water and droplets of dirt. Engineers have discovered these mini-hairs can work on almost any surface.

Wolfgang Sigmund/UF materials science engineer: “Even in the household, surfaces of tables and of any other material that you’d like to have repellency of liquids.”

Experts say past attempts at water or dirt repelling technology don’t work as well because they can be scratched off or easily removed, and could prove unsafe.

Wolfgang Sigmund/UF materials science engineer: “Currently Teflon is actually controversial because of health risks that people associate with it. And therefore, it’s important to have a different method to render surfaces super hydrophobic and dirt repellant. And this is possible with this new method where no chemicals are needed.”

The technology could eventually come in the form of a spray-on product.