Super-hydrophobic surfaces: From natural to artificial

Super-hydrophobic surfaces, with a water contact angle (CA) greater than 150°, have attracted much interest for both fundamental research and practical applications. Recent studies on lotus and rice leaves reveal that a super-hydrophobic surface with both a large CA and small sliding angle (α) needs the cooperation of micro- and nanostructures, and the arrangement of the microstructures on this surface can influence the way a water droplet tends to move. These results from the natural world provide a guide for constructing artificial super-hydrophobic surfaces and designing surfaces with controllable wettability. Accordingly, super-hydrophobic surfaces of polymer nanofibers and differently patterned aligned carbon nanotube (ACNT) films have been fabricated.