Dr. Muhammad Rabnawaz
Postdoctoral Associate
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), University of Illinois, Urbana-
Champaign
“A New Technology Welcomes you in Smudge-free World”
Thursday, January 14th, 2016
117 Roger Adams Lab (map)
ABSTRACT
6:00 PM
In this presentation, I will discuss an innovative paint that will reduce fingerprint deposition on electronic touchscreens, glass, prevent graffiti/acid rain from damaging historical statutes, and protect metals and ceramics from corrosions. Polymeric perfluoropolyether1 and/or siloxane oil2 was embedded into a cross-linked polyurethane film. The perfluoropolyether or siloxane oil forms a thin liquid film on the surface of polyurethane film. When another liquid such as water or oil is dispensed onto the surface of these paints, the liquid slides off because the slippery (lubricating) thin liquid film repel the liquid droplets. We successfully applied this coating onto a smart-phone screen, which did not affect the display quality or touchscreen sensitivity. Consequently, this paint can be potentially used to protect ~8 billion touchscreen electronic devices currently available in the market. This new coating can be applied onto a variety of substrates such as glass, wood, fabric, metal, and ceramics via dip-coating, spray-coating or dispensing techniques.
[1] Rabnawaz, M.; Liu, G. Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 6616 (Cover article).
[2] Rabnawaz, M.; Liu, G.; Hu, H. Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 12913. See also:
http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i36/Antismudge-Coating-Free-Fluorine.html.