Fabrication Techniques of Superhydrophobic Coatings: A Comprehensive Review

Superhydrophobic coatings are growing in demand in textile, wearable electronics, and healthcare devices due to their nonwetting, antibacterial, anti‐icing, and self‐cleaning properties. With potential applications of superhydrophobic surfaces in consumer electronic devices, there is a huge demand to develop new materials and fabrication techniques that can help make high‐performance, scalable electronic devices directly onto the conductive and flexible substrates for a wide range of applications. Superhydrophobic materials which are highly stretchable and exhibit good electrical conductivity find applications in wearable electronics sensors, energy storage devices, anticorrosion circuits, etc. Superhydrophobicity can be achieved by creating micro/nanostructures using materials with low surface energy. In general, most of the superhydrophobic coatings are developed by making the materials’ surfaces rough by multistep procedures. However, due to the lack of excellent natural templates as well as simple and cost‐effective manufacturing procedures, a coating approach that is simple, cost‐effective, scalable, and environmentally friendly is in high demand. Finding appropriate materials, simple fabrication techniques, and cost‐effective, durable, and eco‐friendly superhydrophobic coatings for real‐life applications is still challenging. This article reviews the materials used, fabrication techniques, the theoretical background of hydrophobicity in surfaces, and the limitations of existing methods. It also reviews the superhydrophobic responses of different materials.