Regular ArticleBio-inspired one-pot route to prepare robust and repairable micro-nanoscale superhydrophobic coatings

Superhydrophobic (SHP) coatings inspired by lotus have great application prospect for our daily life. Regrettably, three formidable challenges, namely, complex fabrication, weak mechanical stability and large-scale fabrication, have already existed for a long time in this research field. Here, a robust micro-nanoscale P25 (Nano TiO2)/MgO/epoxy resin (ER) SHP coating has been fabricated via facile one-pot route, which can be applied to arbitrary substrates through multiples methods. P25/MgO/ER SHP coating not only displays excellent mechanical stability but also shows unique repairable ability to recover its superhydrophobicity under various damages by extreme environment such as low temperature, strong acid or alkali and this repairable process can be repeated for many times. P25/MgO/ER SHP coating also is easy to large-scale fabrication with very low cost.

Graphical abstractWe have demonstrated one kind of micro-nanoscale superhydrophobic coating via a novel one-pot route on arbitrary substrates. This coating has avoided complex process, noxious chemicals and high cost successfully. It not only displays excellent mechanical stability but also shows unique repairable ability to recover its superhydrophobicity under various damages.Download high-res image (96KB)Download full-size image