Papillaes-enhanced hydrophobicity of large-sized polytetrafluoroethylene-polyphenylene sulfite soft film prepared by layer-by-layer construction

Large-sized superhydrophobic soft film with hierarchical structures were prepared by combining papillaes on the polytetrafluoroethylene-polyphenylene sulfite (PTFE-PPS) surface via layer-by-layer construction on the glass substrate and heat treatment processes, therein, the papillaes were formed by 0.1 μm PTFE coated on the pollen grains. The water contact angles (CAs) and sliding angles (SAs) of the films are strongly dependent on the number density of the papillaes on the PTFE-PPS surface. A superhydrophobic surface with a water CA = 151.5° and SA = 4° was obtained when the number density was about 649 mm−2. The papillaes with micro/submicroscale structures play an important role in the formation of the superhydrophobic surface and can change Wenzel-type surface into Cassie–Baxter-type surface. The condensation of water vapor on the Cassie–Baxter-type PTFE-PPS film is much more difficult than that of on the Wenzel-type film. Our method may develop into a facile method to prepare large-sized soft film with low cost, which limited only by the size of the loading substrates.