Surface Grafted Design of Self-Cleaning and Highly Transparent Reversible Coatings

Self-cleaning coatings have attracted attention for their ability to reduce surface contamination by repelling liquids. However, the development of a self-cleaning coating that maintains both high transparency and sustainable application still faces challenges. Here, a reversible coating (STRC) is reported that can be simply grafted onto different medical plastics. STRC exhibits significant repellent properties toward liquids with different surface tensions and maintains high transparency. Further studies have shown that coating is highly effective against contamination of acid/alkali solutions, biological fluids, and even dried blood. To demonstrate the reversibility, silicon-oxygen bond in STRC can be cleaved by fluoride ions (F^-), which restores the free hydroxyl group, enabling reversible grafting in less than 2 min. The coating has favorable biocompatibility while effectively resisting the adhesive growth of bacteria and cells, which provides a valuable reference for preventing biofilm formation and reducing cross-infection on medical materials.