SCIENCE, sa.5611, ss.1377-1380, 2003 (SCI-Expanded)
Superhydrophobic surfaces are generally made by controlling the surface chemistry and surface roughness of various expensive materials, which are then applied by means of complex time-consuming processes. We describe a simple and inexpensive method for forming a superhydrophobic coating using polypropylene (a simple polymer) and a suitable selection of solvents and temperature to control the surface roughness. The resulting get-like porous coating has a water contact angle of 160degrees. The method can be applied to a variety of surfaces as long as the solvent mixture does not dissolve the underlying material.