Superhydrophobic surfaces

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces (water contact angles higher than 150 can only be achieved by a combination of hydrophobicity (low surface energy materials) with appropriate surface texture. In nature one can find an array of impressive and elegant examples of superhydrophobic surfaces. For example, on a lotus leaf rain drops bounce off after impact, then entirely roll off the lotus leaf and drag along any dirt particles, without leaving residues. The artificial design of superhydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces has become an extremely active area of fundamental and applied research. This book presents both fundamental and applied aspects of superhydrophobic surfaces. It describes also different strategies for making superhydrophobic surfaces from a large diversity of materials (polymers, metals and other inorganic materials, composites) and processes (lithographic techniques, electrochemical processes, self-assembly processes, colloidal particles, sol-gel processes, nanofilaments, or simple scraping). A bountiful of information is covered in this book which represents cumulative wisdom of many world-renowned researchers in the fascinating and burgeoning area of superhydrophobic surfaces.