Micro-nano hierarchical superhydrophobic electrospray-synthesized silica layers

► Preparation of superhydrophobic SiO2 layers with a micro-nano hierarchical surface structure. ► SiO2 layers are rough on the microscale, prepared by an electrospraying method. ► Au nanoparticles are coated on the micro-scale rough SiO2 surface, creating a nanoscale structure. ► This micro-nano hierarchical SiO2 layers show an outstanding superhydrophobicity.