A nanoscale coating that’s at least 95-percent air repels the broadest range of liquids of any material in its class, causing them to bounce off the treated surface, according to the University of Michigan (UM) engineering researchers who developed it.

In addition to super stain-resistant clothes, the coating could lead to breathable garments to protect soldiers and scientists from chemicals, and advanced waterproof paints that dramatically reduce drag on ships.

Droplets of solutions that would normally damage either your shirt or your skin recoil when they touch the new “superomniphobic surface.”

“Virtually any liquid you throw on it bounces right off without wetting it [the nanoscale coating],” says Anish Tuteja, UM assistant professor of materials science and engineering. “For many other similar coatings, very low surface-tension liquids such as oils, alcohols, organic acids, organic bases, and solvents stick to them, and they could start to diffuse through; that’s not what you want.”

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