New smart coating could make oil-spill cleanup faster and more efficient

In the wake of recent off-shore oil spills, and with the growing popularity of "fracking" -- in which water is used to release oil and gas from shale -- there's a need for easy, quick ways to separate oil and water. Now, scientists have developed coatings that can do just that. Their report on the materials, which also could stop surfaces from getting foggy and dirty, appears in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.