Silicone Nanofilaments and Their Application as Superhydrophobic Coatings

Silicone nanofilaments (see figure) are grown by a simple chemical vapor deposition method on different substrate materials. The filaments are flexible, and have lengths of up to several micrometers and diameters of up to 150 nm. The dense and entangled arrangement of these filaments yields a superhydrophobic coating that is also optically transparent and antireflective.