Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces on zinc substrates by displacement deposition of Sn

Abstract Facile preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces of stable and cheap metals is practically important. We report here our findings on fabrication of a superhydrophobic metal Sn surface, which can be obtained at room temperature in 5 min through a displacement reaction between a zinc plate and an acidic SnCl2 solution without needing post-treatment and surface modification. This procedure is facile, time-saving and inexpensive, which is superior to other known displacement depositions of Pt, Ag, Au, or Cu. The effects of preparation conditions on the surface morphology and wettability have been investigated in detail, including reactant concentration and reaction time. It has been observed that superhydrophobicity was closely related with the morphological transition from tin nanoparticles/nanopores to tin dendrites, and the maximal water contact angle (CA) was about 156° with the Cassie state. We expect that this fabrication technique will find practical applications.