Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted
considerable attention
because of their unique characteristics for widespread applications
such as self-cleaning, deicing, antifouling, and hydrodynamic drag
reduction. However, previous research has failed to attain the required
mechanical and chemical robustness of a superhydrophobic surface simultaneously,
which has significantly limited its application in complex and practical
scenarios. In this work, we designed and fabricated a mechanically
and chemically robust superhydrophobic surface that is made of laser-ablated
microstructured stainless steel frames filled with fluoropolymer nanoparticles.
The stainless-steel frames serve as a protective cover that significantly
enhances the mechanical durability of the surface, and the fluoropolymer
coatings subsequently improve the resistance to chemical corrosion
due to their intrinsic chemical inertness. This synergetic effect
of mechanical protection and chemical inertness empowers the superhydrophobic
surface of robust superhydrophobicity after 1000 cycles of sandpaper
abrasion and immersion in extremely corrosive chemical solutions of
1.5 mol/L NaOH or 0.75 mol/L H2SO4 for 300 h.
In addition, our superhydrophobic surface has retained anticorrosion
and wear-resistant properties even after 30 days of continuous UV
and thermal exposure, salt spray, and seawater immersion. Thus, we
envision that such superhydrophobic surfaces with their superior mechanical
robustness, chemical corrosion resistance, and scalable manufacturability
are capable of expanding their operational lifespan in practical engineering
applications.