Reproducing superhydrophobic leaves as coatings by micromolding surface-initiated polymerization

Micromolding surface-initiated polymerization enables the fabrication of polymer coatings that reproduce the microscale surface topography of superhydrophobic leaves onto solid supports. Here, the surfaces of superhydrophobic leaves from Trifolium repens and Aristolochia esperanzae are molded and reproduced as the topography of a partially fluorinated polymer coating through the surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization of 5-(perfluorooctyl)norbornene (NBF8). The polymer coatings have thicknesses exceeding 100 μm, which can be tailored by the amount of monomer added to the mold. These coatings are robustly bound to the substrate, contain compositions not found in nature, and achieve superhydrophobicity that is comparable to the actual leaf.