Robust superhydrophobic surfaces with mechanical durability and easy repairability

Development of superhydrophobic self-cleaning materials is hindered by their susceptibility to mechanical abrasion. Here, to solve the problem caused by mechanical damage, we prepared a superhydrophobic metal/polymer composite surface possessing both mechanical durability and easy repairability. The mechanical durability of the resulting superhydrophobic surface was evaluated by the abrasion test. The result demonstrated that the rough surface textures were retained and the surface still exhibited superhydrophobicity after mechanical abrasion. Moreover, the non-wetting property can be restored by an easy regeneration process when loss of superhydrophobicity occurs. Amazingly, the created metal/polymer surface can be used as a finger touchable self-cleaning surface.