Transparent and Superamphiphobic Surfaces from Mushroom-Like Micropillar Arrays

Transparent, superamphiphobic surfaces that repel both water and oils are prepared from mushroom-like micropillar arrays consisting of nanoparticles only at the top of the pillars by controlled compartment filling of silica nanoparticles into the bottom of the poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) mold, followed by infiltration of epoxy and UV curing. Because silica nanoparticle decorated pillar heads are more resistant to O2 plasma than the polymer pillars, we can precisely control the head size of micropillars and nanoroughness on top of the pillar heads by varying the O2 plasma time. The combination of nanoroughness and mushroom-like micropillars leads to superhydrophobicity and oil repellency to different organic solvents. High transparency is achieved by increasing the spacing ratio of micropillars. Last, we demonstrate anisotropic wetting on the hierarchical surface can be achieved by combining photolithography, replica molding, and self-assembly techniques.