Preparation of superhydrophobic silver nano coatings with feather-like structures by electroless galvanic deposition

Superhydrophobic silver nanocoatings with feather-like morphology are fabricated on copper substrates by electroless galvanic deposition. The coating exhibit superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 156.4° and glide angle of 4° without any further surface modification. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contact angle measurements are used to investigate the morphology, crystal structure and superhydrophobicity, respectively, of the coatings. The coatings exhibit high thermal stability; their water contact angle did not change when the coatings were heated to 200°C for 2 h. The mechanism of superhydrophobicity of the silver coating is discussed based on the work of Amirfazli, Wenzel and Cassie.