Artificial lotus leaf by nanocasting

The surface structure of lotus leaf was investigated by nanocasting. The casting process used poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), a soft material widely used for casting, to replicate the surface structures. The complex surface patterns of the lotus leaf are transferred onto the surface of solid-state PDMS with high fidelity. The surfaces of both natural and artificial lotus leaves remain superhydrophobic after being immersed in water for more than a week or being exposed to the high-humidity ambient atmosphere for several months. The results show that surface with superhydrophobic properties have important applications in many fields such as antifouling, self-cleaning, and water-resistant coatings.