Controllable fabrication of lotus-leaf-like superhydrophobic surface on copper foil by self-assembly

A novel approach was developed to fabricate a lotus-leaf-like superhydrophobic surface on a copper foil by simple self-assembly method with the assistance of the porous PDMS template which was used to adjust the oxidized parts of the copper foil surface before self-assembly. The results showed a series of beautiful flower-like microstructures resulting from the self-assembly of cupric stearate that were distributed at regular intervals on the as-prepared copper foil surface similar to the papillae of lotus leaf surface. The water contact angle of the as-prepared copper surface was up to 161° and its sliding angle was only 3°. Its great superhydrophobicity could be kept unchanged after 6 months in air. The formation mechanism of the lotus-leaf-like structure was discussed. This simple and low-cost method is expected to be applied to design and prepare complicated superhydrophobic surfaces with beautiful regular microstructures on different substrates such as stainless steel, zinc, and so on.