One-step production of superhydrophobic coatings on flat substrates via atmospheric Rf plasma process using non-fluorinated hydrocarbons.

This paper describes the direct deposition of hydrocarbon coatings with a static water contact angle higher than 150 using simple C6 hydrocarbons as a reactive gas in helium plasma generated in ambient air without any preroughening of the silicon (100) substrate. The film morphology and hydrophobicity are found to strongly depend on the structure of the reagent hydrocarbon. The films deposited with n-hexane and cyclohexane exhibited relatively smooth morphology and the water contact angle was only ∼95°, similar to polypropylene.