Tuning Superhydrophobic Materials with Negative Surface Energy Domains.

Hydrophobic/superhydrophobic materials with intrinsic water repellence are highly desirable in engineering fields including anti-icing in aerocrafts, antidrag and anticorrosion in ships, and antifog and self-cleaning in optical lenses, screen, mirrors, and windows. However, superhydrophobic material should have small surface energy (SE) and a micro/nanosurface structure which can reduce solid-liquid contact significantly. The low SE is generally found in organic materials with inferior mechanical properties that is undesirable in engineering.