New Advances in Superhydrophobic Materials: Fabrication, Characteristics and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, superhydrophobicity exhibiting a water contact angle (WCA) higher than 150° and a sliding angle (SA) lower than 10° has been attracting attention due to its many benefits. The excellent superhydrophobic surface obtains some specific advantages in waterproofing, such as self-cleaning, anti-ice, anti-microbial, and anti-corrosion properties, drag reduction, evaporation enhancement, and oil–water separation. Currently, the challenges faced by superhydrophobic materials involve effectively fabricating materials with robust properties to adapt to the practical applications. These materials are prone to damage due to their micro-nanostructures, caused by factors like climatic conditions, friction, and changes in hydrophobic models. On the other hand, there is another important issue of how we can combine or utilize superhydrophobic functions with other functions to achieve more effective material functionality, such as combining them with photothermal and electrothermal properties for efficient anti-icing and de-icing. Similarly, combining superhydrophobicity with anti-corrosion features can enhance corrosion protection, and so on. Furthermore, it is also important to focus on developing methods to accurately characterize and test the performance of superhydrophobic materials, including their superhydrophobic durability, to ensure that laboratory evaluations closely align with real-world applications. Based on these methods, establishing evaluation standards for superhydrophobic materials is essential for their practical application.

Prof. Dr. Xu Zhang
Guest Editor

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• superhydrophobic coating
• superhydrophobic fabric
• superhydrophobic materials
• self-cleaning
• anti-ice
• anti-microbial
• anti-corrosion
• drag reduction
• evaporation enhancement
• oil-water separation
• robust