Control over Water Adhesion on Nanostructured Parahydrophobic Films Using Mesh Substrates

Abstract Control over water adhesion is extremely necessary for many applications in water harvesting, liquid transportation, and water/oil separation, for example. Inspired by natural species such as rose petals and gecko feet, these properties can be controlled with the topography of surface structures. Here, we report for the first time the electrodeposition of sticking conducting polymers forming nanofilaments or nanosheets on textured mesh substrates. We show that the presence of mesh textures can reduce the water adhesion, although the adhesion still remains relatively high. This is probably due to a high amount of air between the mesh wires and a low amount of air on them. Moreover, it is also possible to control the water adhesion with the mesh opening or by modifying the shape of the nanostructures. This work opens new strategies for the control of water adhesion.