Surface hydrophobic co-modification of hollow silica nanoparticles toward large-area transparent superhydrophobic coatings

► Hydrophobic hollow silica nanoparticles (HSNs) were designed and synthesized. ► Hydrophobic HSNs were used to construct coatings by spray-coating. ► The coatings reached excellent superhydrophobicity after post-treatment at 150 °C for 5 h. ► The coatings were robust to both impact of water and acidic/basic droplets.