Harnessing Biofilm Scaffold for Structurally Adaptative Slippery Surfaces with Integrated Antifouling and...

Artificial liquid-repellent surfaces are highly desirable to combat pervasive biofouling and corrosion in biological environments. However, existing strategies often suffer from slow binding kinetics and harsh fabrication conditions, hindering the concurrent integration of liquid repellency, universal adhesion, and robust flexibility. Herein, we report that it is possible to engineer microbial biofilms as eco-friendly, cohesive, and flexible materials for omniphobic slippery coatings fulfilling all these requirements. Unlike conventional synthetic slippery coatings requiring laborious surface pretreatments, biofilm sheets formed on demand assemble a durable nanotextured framework on diverse substrates with multiple material categories and surface topologies, serving as hydrophobic lubricant reservoirs. Employing this renewable material enables the scalable and sustainable coating production. The resulting optically transparent and highly flexible coatings manifest exceptional self-cleaning properties, readily shedding both waterborne and oily liquids over a broad viscosity range. Notably, the synergy between the corrosion-protective extracellular matrix and nonstick slipping motion confers unprecedented antibiofouling efficacy and corrosion resistance. This study offers a distinctive perspective on harnessing ubiquitous native biofilms as biomaterials for self-adaptive coatings, facilitating tailored functionality across broad applications.