Facile Fabrication and Self‐Cleaning Performance of a Liquid‐Like Transparent Slippery Coating

ABSTRACT To address the challenges of surface contamination on glass, poor durability of conventional self‐cleaning coatings, and the resulting loss of optical transmittance, this work reports on a transparent slippery coating based on a “liquid‐like” interface design. The coating was constructed on glass via chemical grafting using an aminosilane coupling agent and monoglycidyl ether‐terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This formed a cross‐linked Si–O–Si network with covalently anchored flexible PDMS brushes, creating a stable liquid‐like interface. Owing to the rapid rotation and conformational changes of PDMS segments that endow the surface with liquid‐like mobility, the coating exhibited excellent slippery properties with visible‐light transmittance above 90%, a water contact angle of 90.2°–110.5°, and a sliding angle of 7.5–9.7. Furthermore, the coating displayed significant repellency toward various liquids with surface tensions ranging from 21.8 to 72.75 mN/m. Under harsh environmental conditions, including a broad temperature range (20°C–90°C), wide pH range (1–14), and high salt concentrations (≤ 250 g/L), the coating maintained stable wetting behavior and slippery performance. Additionally, it demonstrated good UV resistance mechanical wear durability, and efficient self‐cleaning capability in simulated contamination experiments. This study provides a feasible material design and fabrication strategy for developing transparent self‐cleaning coatings with high performance and long‐term durability.