In this work, a hydrophilic, yet slippery solid surface was developed. Because the surfaces are hydrophilic, there is significant affinity between the surface and contacting water, which results in substantial spreading of the contacting liquids on the surface. Due to their strong affinity, a high solid-liquid adhesion having virtually no mobility of the water on the surface occurs. However, counter-intuitively, the disclosed surfaces are highly slippery such that liquids can slide on the surface while maintaining their hydrophilicity. Demonstrated herein are water droplets that can slide on the surface under its own weight, when the hydrophilic, yet slippery solid surface is slightly tilted (ω=3°). This indicates that the disclosed hydrophilic surfaces are slippery to water.
