Plant-inspired coating beats 'forever chemicals' at their own game

The slippery, water-repelling coatings on pans, jackets and packaging often rely on PFAS — 'forever chemicals' that linger in the environment. Washington University in St. Louis researchers have built a replacement from the chemistry of plant bark. Their material, called SLIP — superhydrophobic lignin-integrated particles — combines lignin, a woody plant polymer usually treated as waste, with fatty acids to repel water the way a plant's protective layer, suberin, does. Published in Matter, the coating is fluorine-free and biodegradable: it does the forever chemicals' job without the forever part.

SDG 12 · Responsible consumption and production — Mechanism: tech innovation