Scientists from the University of Rochester in New York State are perfecting a process using lasers that can turn a metal surface so water repellent water bounces off it.

The laser transforms materials into super-hydrophobic materials without the need for applying a water repellent coating. Materials that are very difficult to wet have many practical applications in fields such as rust proofing and anti-icing.

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"The material is so strongly water-repellent, the water actually gets bounced off. Then it lands on the surface again, gets bounced off again, and then it will just roll off from the surface," said Chunlei Guo, a professor of Optics from University of Rochester.

In a paper published in the Journal of Applied Physics, Guo and Anatoliy Vorobyev, his colleague at the University's Institute of Optics, developed a powerful and precise laser-patterning technique that creates an intricate pattern of micro- and nanoscale structures to give the metals their new properties.

It's believed the hydrophobic materials are much more slippery than Teflon, a common material used to coat non-stick frying pans. The difference between the laser-treated material is that water rolls off it by tilting in less than five degrees, while the Teflon surface needs to be tilt some 70 degree before the water slides off.

The potential applications and results of the super-hydrophobic materials can be an interesting. Guo introduced it in developing countries and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported the project.

Making latrines using this laser process could make latrine cleaner and healthier to use. Using latrines, especially in developing countries, can likely lessen spread of possible disease.

Tagswater repellent, laser etching, super-hydrophobic, teflon, University of Rochester, laser technology, Metals, Water-Repellent Metals, waterproof treatment