Facile one-step fabrication of highly transparent and flexible superhydrophobic substrate by room-temperature ion irradiation method

Highly transparent (transparency 96.5%), flexible and antireflective superhydrophobic (water contact angle >150 degrees) surfaces have been fabricated at room temperature by the ion irradiation method. This one-step fabrication route was fairly easy to carry out without any heat or chemical treatment and can be completed within few seconds. This novel chemical free fabricating strategy could be extended to numerous polymeric substrates to achieve transparent and flexible superhydrophobic structures for their potential applications in diverse fields. (c) 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim