Superhydrophobic silver surface with dendrites structure on steel substrate by a facile electroless galvanic deposition process

A simple electroless galvanic deposition process to prepare superhydrophobic surface on steel substrate is presented here. Micro- and nano roughness structure is generated on steel surface by the deposition of silver dendrites with nanoscale leaves. After modified with stearic acid, the as-prepared surface shows a remarkable superhydrophobicity with a high water contact angle (WCA) of 158° and a low sliding angle of about 2°. The surface also shows non-sticking properties to a 4 μL water droplet. The cooperation of dendrites structure and stearic acid modification is responsible for the superhydrophobicty of the as-prepared surface. This simple and reliable method is of great significance to the large scale fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces on steel substrate.

► A facile electroless galvanic deposition method is proposed to fabricate superhydrophobic surface on steel substrate. ► A two-tier roughness structure composed of silver dendrites and silver nanoparticles is obtained. ► The as-prepared superhydrophobic surface possesses a water contact angle of 158° and a sliding angle of about 2°.