Chemical and biological (CB) warfare agents are a serious threat to our soldiers and national security. Different warfare agents and microbes may be delivered using solids (powders, particulates, ice crystals), hydrosols (air borne liquid droplets), or aerosols (air-born particulates). Solids, hydrosols, or aerosols can penetrate, accumulate, and transport through both porous and non-porous surfaces. The current generation of protective coatings does not offer an acceptable level of protection against these different warfare agents. Here we discuss a single, non-fluorinated, truly omniphobic repellent coating (ORC) system that can resist the attachment of a wide range of different solids, while at the same time, resisting the wetting of both high and low surface tension liquids. To our knowledge, this is the first ever coating to demonstrate this unique combination of properties. As part of the work in Phase I, we will investigate if the performance of the ORCs in terms of repelling both solids and liquids can be further improved by altering their composition. We will also investigate if the coating, when applied to both non-textured and textured substrates, can meet all the objectives of this solicitation, including solid and liquid adhesion, physical properties, durability, and permeability of the coated substrates.
Keywords: Solid/aerosol repellent, low surface tension, surface roughness, solid adhesion strength, superomniphobic, chemical/biological agent protection
