title: A geometry controllable approach for the fabrication of biomimetic hierarchical structure and its superhydrophobicity with near-zero sliding angle.
abstract: A simple, geometry controllable method is presented for fabricating multiscale hierarchical polymer structures that exhibit superhydrophobic water-repellent properties with near-zero sliding angle over a large area. A UV-assisted micromolding technique is used to create a microtexture with an ultraviolet (UV)-curable resin containing Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles. A subsequent treatment of ultraviolet ozone (UVO) leads to the formation of nanoscale roughness over the as-formed microstructured surface, resulting in a dual-scale surface texture similar to a lotus leaf, in a reproducible manner. After hydrophobization with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) in the liquid phase, this hierarchical surface exhibits stable superhydrophobic characteristics, having a water contact angle close to 160° and a contact angle (CA) hysteresis as low as 1°. These characteristics did not change even after exposure to ambient conditions for 6 months.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744, Korea.
authors.forename: Se-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kahp Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Hong H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lee