Robust transparent superhydrophobic coatings on glass substrates prepared by a facile rapid thermal process

A novel rapid thermal process has been applied to fabricate oxide-based coatings with micro-nano hierarchical roughness on glass substrates. After decorating the coatings with fluorosilane, the optimized coating has a water contact angle of 154°. The coating demonstrates a high level of transparency as well as mechanical strength. The effects of SiO2 nanoparticle loading, SiO2 particle size and rapid thermal processing temperature on the coatings' properties have been systematically investigated. The formation mechanism of the coatings’ morphology and microstructure is explained.