This communication describes the use of polyelectrolyte multilayer as a preformed matrix in electrochemical deposition to adjust the morphology of gold clusters, and only the surface covered with dendritic gold clusters shows a super-hydrophobic property, with the contact angle above 150 degrees and the tilt angle less than 1.5 degrees , after the surface further chemisorbed with a self-assembled monolayer of n-dodecanethiol.

A superhydrophobic ZnO thin film was fabricated by the Au-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition method. The surface of the film exhibits hierarchical structure with nanostructures on sub-microstructures. The water contact angle (CA) was 164.3°, turning into a superhydrophilic one (CA < 5°) after UV illumination, which can be recovered through being placed in the dark or being heated. The film was attached tightly to the substrate, showing good stability and durability. The surface structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.