Superhydrophobic surface development via atmospheric pressure plasma deposition of cyclic silazane

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-Octamethylcyclotetrasilazane (OTMSD), a cyclic silazane precursor, is deposited via atmospheric pressure plasma onto a substrate. The resulting coating exhibits a dual surface roughness, contributing to a significant reduction of surface wettability. Notably, the coating exhibits superhydrophobic characteristics, proven by a water contact angle of approximately 170 degrees, hysteresis angle below 10 degrees, very low tilting angle (<10 degrees), and droplet-bouncing effect. Importantly, this superhydrophobicity is achieved using OTMSD as fluorine-free precursor with low reactivity to water. Furthermore, the deposition process is carried out using a commercially available plasma device highlighting its practicality and scalability for large-scale production.