Superomniphobic Coatings for Automotive and Petroleum Applications

A superomniphobic coating exhibits high-contact angles for both low- and high-surface tension fluids, comprising both the properties of superhydrophobic and superoleophobic coatings into one. The potential applications for water- and oil-repellent coatings are extensive and include self-cleaning, anti-fouling, drag reduction, and anti-corrosion. The Southwest Research Institute has developed a range of coating capabilities such as vacuum-based plasma immersion ion deposition (PIM) and solution-based spray techniques to apply superomniphobic coatings onto a glass or metallic substrate. Each coating technique offers different advantages to the end user, such as accommodating large and small three-dimensional components. The coating chemistry developed from both the PIM and spray coating techniques are based on a fluoro-organosiloxane and pefluoromodified-silica nanoparticle composition, respectively. The chemical composition of the coatings, along with surface roughening techniques of the substrate, plays a key role in creating superomniphobic surfaces. In this paper, an overview of coating, engineering, and deposition processes will be presented. Additionally, the characterization and performance of the coated surfaces will be discussed.