Synthetic Surfaces with Robust and Tunable Underwater Superoleophobicity

Surfaces with extreme wetting properties are useful for the collection, manipulation, transport, and avoidance of aqueous and organic fluids of commercial and strategic importance. Two major obstacles to the deployment of synthetic non‐wetting materials in practical scenarios are their lack of mechanical durability and their susceptibility to fouling in contaminated or chemically complex media. Here, crosslinked and nanoporous polymer multilayers are reported that overcome these limitations and exhibit robust and tunable “underwater superoleophobicity”, or the ability to almost completely prevent contact with oils and other organic fluids when submerged in water. These entirely organic coatings mimic key chemical and structural features found on the scales of fish and other natural anti‐oil‐fouling surfaces, and are remarkably tolerant to physical, chemical, and environmental insults commonly encountered in natural and synthetic aqueous environments. This approach also permits facile manipulation and patterning of surface chemistry and, thus, tunable spatial control over other important aspects of interfacial behavior, such as underwater oil adhesiveness, that extend and expand the potential utility of synthetic anti‐oil‐fouling surfaces in aqueous, aquatic, and marine environments.