Facile method to prepare lotus-leaf-like super-hydrophobic poly(vinyl chloride) film

A simple new approach was developed to obtain a super-hydrophobic PVC film from a natural lotus leaf using the nanocasting method. SEM shows that compared with a common smooth PVC film, a lotus-leaf-like surface structure was clearly observed on the super-hydrophobic PVC film. The water contact angle and rolling-off angle on the as-prepared lotus-leaf-like PVC film were 157 +/- 1.8 degrees and 3 +/- 0.6 degrees, respectively. The samples were kept at temperatures between 5 and 40 degrees C in the ambient atmosphere for 2 months, and no decrease in water contact angle was observed, nor was contamination observed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.