Mosquito eyes inspired surfaces with robust antireflectivity and superhydrophobicity

Abstract

Inspired by the compound eyes of the mosquito, the uniform hierarchical structures with antireflectivity and superhydrophobicity has been designed and prepared by spinning technology. Microscale silica spheres and nanoscale colloidal particles were assembled on glass substrate to produce binary structures. To enhance the hydrophobicity, particles were modified by N-(β-aminoethyl)-γ-aminopropylmethylbimethoxy silane (KH-602) before deposition. And annealing process was used to strengthen the mechanical robustness. The resultant structures exhibited low reflections of less than 0.5%, and high static water contact angle (WCA) of larger than 160°. Furthermore, tape adhesion test and washing test showed that the artificial nano-/micro- structures had excellent mechanical robustness. Meanwhile the superhydrophobic surface owned the capacities of self-cleaning ability and chemical stability. We anticipate that these advantages could potentially enhance the performance of optoelectronic devices and help them to survive in terrible environment. Moreover, this self-assembly method is facile, cost effective, and suitable for high-throughput fabrication of binary colloidal arrays.