The hierarchical structure silica surface of inlaying silica nanoparticles along a regular pillar-like pattern is fabricated by embossing silica sol-gel precursor mixed with silica nanoparticles on glass substrates with an elastomeric mold. The substrate is further modified by a self-assembled fluorosilanated monolayer to reduce its surface energy. The advancing/receding contact angle measurements are performed to demonstrate that a water droplet on these surfaces can exhibit a transition from the Wenzel state to the Cassie state due to the addition of silica nanoparticles to enhance its surface roughness.

Silica nanoparticles were spin-coated onto a flat/patterned (regular pillar-like) substrate to enhance the surface roughness. The surface was further modified by a self-assembled fluorosilanated monolayer. The advancing/receding contact angle and sliding angle measurements were performed to determine the wetting behavior of a water droplet on the surface. It is interesting to find that a transition from a Wenzel surface to a sticky superhydrophobic surface is observed due to the spin-coating silica nanoparticles. A slippery superhydrophobic surface can be further obtained after secondary spin-coating with silica nanoparticles to generate a multi-scale roughness structure. The prepared superhydrophobic substrates should be robust for practical applications. The adhesion between the substrate and nanoparticles is also examined and discussed.

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Rose petals exhibit superhydrophobicity with strong adhesion to pin water drops, known as the 'petal effect.' It is generally believed that the petal effect is attributed to dual-scale roughness, that is, the surface possesses both a nanostructure and a microstructure (Feng et al 2008 Langmuir 24 4114). In this study, we demonstrate that the dual-scale roughness is not a necessary condition for a surface of the petal effect. A surface of single-scale roughness, either at the nanoscale or the microscale alone, within a certain roughness region may also exhibit the petal effect. The surface roughness plays the essential role on the wetting behavior and governs the contact angle in the Wenzel or Cassie state, as well as the contact angle hysteresis. A water drop on the surface of the petal effect under the condition of the advancing and receding contact angle would fall into, respectively, the Cassie and Wenzel state, which leads to a contact angle hysteresis large enough to pin the water drop. On both single and dual textured hydrophobic surfaces, a sequence of wetting transitions: Wenzel state → petal state (sticky superhydrophobic state) → lotus state (slippery superhydrophobic state) is consistently observed by simply increasing the surface roughness.

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