The self-cleaning function of superhydrophobic surfaces is conventionally attributed to the removal of contaminating particles by impacting or rolling water droplets, which implies the action of external forces such as gravity. Here, we demonstrate a unique self-cleaning mechanism whereby the contaminated superhydrophobic surface is exposed to condensing water vapor, and the contaminants are au...

It is of great importance to construct a stable superhydrophobic surface with low sliding angle (SA) for various applications. We used hydrophobic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to construct the superhydrophobic hierarchical architecture of CNTs on silicon micropillar array (CNTs/Si-μp), which have a large contact angle of 153° to 155° and an ultralow SA of 3° to 5°. Small water droplets with a volume...

A brief description of how superhydrophobicity can help mitigate the ice accretion problem on power network equipment and other exposed structures by reducing ice-tosurface adhesion is presented. Basic models, namely the Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter models, accounting for the contact angle of water on solid surfaces relating to the influence of surface roughness on hydrophobicity are discussed. The...

The superhydrophobic surface is widely used to reduce friction for the flow inside micro-channel and can be used to control/manipulate fluid, cells and even proteins in lab-on-chip. Fabricating micro grooves on hydrophobic surfaces is a common method to obtain such superhydrophobic surface. This study utilized the numerical method to investigate the effect of eccentric micro-grooves on the fric...

Surface with a static contact angle (CA) greater than 150° are in general defined as superhydrophobic surfaces. Superhydrophobic surface have great potentials in fundamental research,[1-5] and also wide practical applications in the production of textile, microfluidics, self-cleaning surfaces, building glass, windshields of cars, ships hulls, pipes and the satellite antenna surfaces.[6] Superhy...

A superhydrophobic surface is coated on the surface of a cloth by MTCS (methyltrichlorosilane) nanoparticles and then, it is modified by SiO2–m–FTCS (1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorododecyltrichlorosilane) nanoparticles. This surface is characterized by SEM(scanning electron microscopy), and FT-IR (Fourier transform-infrared microscopy) and also its contact angle is investigated in various conditions and ...

A superhydrophobic surface is coated on the surface of a cloth by MTCS (methyltrichlorosilane) nanoparticles and then, it is modified by SiO2–m–FTCS (1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorododecyltrichlorosilane) nanoparticles. This surface is characterized by SEM(scanning electron microscopy), and FT-IR (Fourier transform-infrared microscopy) and also its contact angle is investigated in various conditions and ...

It has been recognized well that it is necessary to achieve superhydrophobic surfaces on intrinsically hydrophobic materials. However, recently experiments have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces on intrinsically hydrophilic materials by creating adequate roughness. In this study, such a possibility for superhydrophobicity on a hydrophilic surface with an in...

Fast photoswitching of wetting properties is important for the development of micro/nanofluidic systems and lab-on-a-chip devices. Here, we show how structuring the surface amplifies photoswitching properties. Atomic layer-deposited titanium dioxide (TiO2) has phototunable hydrophilic properties due to its surface chemistry, but microscale overhang pillars and additional nanoscale topography ca...

The cuticles of most springtails (Collembola) are superhydrophobic, but the mechanism has not been described in detail. Previous studies have suggested that overhanging surface structures play an important role, but such structures are not a universal trait among springtails with superhydrophobic cuticles. A novel wetting experiment with a fluorescent dye revealed the extent of wetting on expos...