Doris Vollmer hates it that her eyeglasses always get dirty so quickly. However, the scientist, who heads a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, is looking for a solution to the problem - and she and her team are now a good deal closer to finding one. A transparent coating that is very good at repelling water and oil, as is now being presented by the Mainz-based researchers, could not only keep water and dirt away from the lenses in glasses and car windscreens, but also, for example, from the glass facades of skyscrapers. It could also prevent residues of blood or contaminated liquids on medical equipment.
The coating essentially consists of an extremely simple material: silica, the main constituent of all glass. The researchers coated this with a fluorinated silicon compound, which already makes the surface water and oil repellent, like a non-stick frying pan. The really clever part is the structure of the coating, however. This is what makes the glass super water repellent and super oil repellent. In a frying pan with this type of coating, water and oil would simply roll around in the form of drops. The structure of the layer resembles a sponge-like labyrinth of completely unordered pores, which is made up of tiny spheres.
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