Oil Resistant Material
As you may know, oil and grease stick to just about anything, and can be quite a problem when you are doing your laundry. Well, the eggheads at MIT have developed a new “oleophobic” material which virtually repels oil. At a microscopic level, the material is a mat of fibers made of fluoroPOSS. The resulting effect is that oil droplets are cradled by the material, maintaining the low surface tension of the oil droplets and allowing them to roll off.
While the more novel applications like grease - free automotive attire may come to mind first, there are actually some other uses with much higher potential impact. For example, oil system seals and reservoirs could be improved to use less oil and prevent leaks with this material. Could there also be a use for this in the cleanup of oil spills?
