A facile process for preparing superhydrophobic nickel films with stearic acid

Nickel surface with nanocone array structure was fabricated by electrodeposition. By controlling electrodeposition condition, various nickel films with different cone sizes were also fabricated. Wettability results revealed that with the increase of cone height, water contact angles increased from 148°to 154°while sliding contact angles dramatically decreased from 90° (sticky condition) to nearly 0°. Three-phase contact model and a simple calculation were given to demonstrate the relations between sliding angles and surface structures.

► Nanocone arrays with different height were fabricated by electrodeposition.
► The relationship of sliding angle, contact angle and cone height were investigated.
► Three-phase contact mode and a simple calculation were proposed to explain the wetting behavior.