Hydrophobic Organic/Inorganic Composite Films with 3D Hierarchical Nanostructured Surfaces

In this study, we propose a method for fabricating hydrophobic coatings/films with three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanostructured organic/inorganic composite surfaces. An epoxy-based, large-area 3D ordered nanoporous template is first prepared through an advanced photolithography technique called Proximity-field nanoPatterning (PnP). Then, a hierarchically structured surface is generated by densely impregnating the template with silica nanoparticles with an average diameter of 22 nm through dip coating. Due to the coexisting micro- and nano-scale roughness on the surface, the fabricated composite film exhibits a higher contact angle (>137 degrees) for water droplets compared to the reference samples. Therefore, it is expected that the materials and processes developed through this study can be used in various ways in the traditional coating/film field.

Automated summary

This study introduces a method for fabricating hydrophobic coatings/films with three-dimensional hierarchical nanostructured surfaces. By densely impregnating an epoxy-based nanoporous template with silica nanoparticles, a hierarchically structured surface is created, resulting in a composite film with a higher contact angle for water droplets. The materials and processes developed in this study are expected to be used in various ways in the traditional coating/film field.