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AssigneePresident and Fellows of Harvard College
InventorsJoanna Aizenberg, Michael Aizenberg, Jiaxi Cui, Stuart Dunn, Benjamin Hatton, Caitlin Howell, Philseok Kim, Tak Sing Wong, Xi Yao
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The present disclosure describes a strategy to create self-healing, slippery self-lubricating polymers. Lubricating liquids with affinities to polymers can be utilized to get absorbed within the polymer and form a lubricant layer (of the lubricating liquid) on the polymer. The lubricant layer can repel a wide range of materials, including simple and complex fluids (water, hydrocarbons, crude oil and bodily fluids), restore liquid-repellency after physical damage, and resist ice, microorganisms and insects adhesion. Some exemplary applications where self-lubricating polymers will be useful include energy-efficient, friction-reduction fluid handling and transportation, medical devices, anti-icing, optical sensing, and as self-cleaning, and anti-fouling materials operating in extreme environments.
An article having a slippery surface to repel a target material, the article comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.