Fabrication of superhydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene films enabled by nanoimprint lithography

Nanoimprint lithography was employed in this study to fabricate superhydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) films. The nanoimprinted PVDF-HFP films exhibited uniform micropillar arrays on their surfaces. The difference in water contact angle between nanoimprinted and neat PVDF-HFP films indicated the involvement of surface micropillars in increasing the hydrophobicity of PVDF-HFP. After coating the nanoimprinted PVDF-HFP films with the self-assembled monolayer of silane, the surface free energy of the films further reduced. This surface treatment improved the hydrophobicity of the imprinted PVDF-HFP films and helped them to exhibit superhydrophobic behavior.