Fabrication of superhydrophobic TiO2 surface with cactus-like structure by a facile hydrothermal approach

Herein we report on a simple and reliable hydrothermal method to prepare superhydrophobic TiO2 surface on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates. The surface shows a novel cactus-like cluster structure composed of TiO2 submicron rods with lengths ranging from 1 μm to 3 μm. After modified with stearic acid, the as-prepared surface shows a remarkable superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle as high as 160° and a sliding angle smaller than 5°. Furthermore, the surface also exhibits non-sticking properties.