Facile Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Hierarchical Structures via Water Vapor Condensation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple and cost-effective method to create superhydrophobic surfaces using water vapor condensation, which can repel water and self-clean.

Contribution

A facile and scalable method for fabricating hierarchical superhydrophobic surfaces via water vapor condensation.

Findings

Hierarchical structures with sizes controlled by condensation time exhibit superhydrophobic properties.

Contact angle and sliding angle measurements confirm the non-wetting performance and structural stability.

The method is feasible for self-cleaning applications and large-area production.

Abstract

Surfaces with a water contact angle greater than 150° are defined as superhydrophobic surfaces, exhibiting characteristics such as water repellency, self‐cleaning ability, and extremely low friction with water droplets. Most superhydrophobic surfaces possess micro‐ or nanoscale hierarchical structures; however, the fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces typically requires considerable time and cost. Herein, we report a facile method for fabricating hierarchical structures via condensation of water vapor to address these problems. The size of the hierarchical structures can be controlled by adjusting the condensation time. The hierarchical structures via water vapor condensation exhibit the features of superhydrophobic surfaces, as confirmed by measurements of contact angle, sliding angle, and droplet impact behavior. As a feasible application, a self‐cleaning test is also carried out. The facile fabrication method in this study is expected to be easily applicable for hierarchical structure formation and further extended to large‐area sample production.

In this work, we demonstrate a facile and robust strategy for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces by introducing micro‐scale hierarchical structures via controlled water vapor condensation. The modulation of condensation time enables the fabrication of dual‐level hierarchical structures, which were systematically validated through contact angle and sliding angle measurements to confirm their superior non‐wetting performance and structural stability.

Figures