Patterned superhydrophobic surface based on Pd-based metallic glass

Without any modification or post-treatment, superhydrophobic surfaces with good stability were fabricated by hot-embossing honeycomb patterns on Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 bulk metallic glass (BMG). The water contact angle reaches above 150° when the pitch between adjacent cells is larger than the critical size of 115.5 μm. The wetting behavior on the patterned BMG can be well rationalized in terms of the modified Cassie-Baxter theory [A. B. D. Cassie and S. Baxter, Trans. Faraday Soc. 40, 546 (1944)] by considering surface energy gradient. The achievement of the superhydrophobicity on BMG surface opens a window for the functional applications of metallic glasses.