One step preparation of superhydrophobic polymeric surface with polystyrene under ambient atmosphere

Brassica oleracea-like polymer surface is facilely fabricated by one-step casting process using amorphous polystyrene (PS) under ambient atmosphere. The obtained coatings show excellent superhydrophobicity and only possess unitary micro-scale structure, similar to the natural brassica leaf. In addition, a simple topography analysis also roughly verifies superhydrophobic structure of branched and intermingled sticks and bumps. This process provides a fairly easy procedure for preparing superhydrophobic surface from common plastics. Moreover, it demonstrates that the micro/nano-binary structure is not necessary for superhydrophobicity, while unitary micro-scale structure for a polymer surface can exhibit outstanding water repellency as natural lotus.