Chemical Fabrication Strategies for Achieving Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Micro and Nanostructures: A Review

• Published in: Advanced engineering materials Vol. 23; no. 3
• Main Authors: Xu, Shuangshuang, Wang, Qing, Wang, Ning
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2021
• Subjects: artificial superhydrophobic surfaces; bioinspired surfaces; chemical strategies; low surface energy; micro–nano structures
• ISSN: 1438-1656; 1527-2648
• DOI: 10.1002/adem.202001083

Biological surfaces in nature, such as lotus leaves, rose petals, and water striders, exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity. The fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces inspired by nature has become an important research topic. The potential application of superhydrophobic surfaces in many fields has promoted the rapid development of fabrication techniques. Various chemical methods, such as chemical vapor deposition techniques, solution immersion methods, electrochemical techniques, hydrothermal method, and sol–gel process, have been proposed for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces due to their low cost, simple preparation, and easy promotion. Herein, the progress of chemical fabrication methods of superhydrophobic surfaces in recent years is focused on and the strengths and weaknesses of each technique are analyzed. At last, a brief conclusion of the challenges and perspectives on the fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces is provided. Recent advances in superhydrophobic surfaces based on their chemical fabrication methods are reviewed. For each type of chemical technique, the strengths and weaknesses are summarized, offering the state‐of‐the‐art progress and knowledge in fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces. Moreover, the current challenges and future prospects of chemical preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces are discussed.