Durable superhydrophobic materials: Advanced fabrication, applications, and industrial challenges

Abstract

Superhydrophobic materials feature exceptional water repellency, anti-fouling, self-cleaning and corrosion resistance, serving as promising candidates across defense, industrial and civilian scenarios. Superhydrophobic materials with static water contact angles above 150° have been fabricated on diverse substrates, yet their large-scale deployment is severely constrained by the fragile Cassie wetting state under mechanical, chemical and multi-environmental loads. This review classifies preparation method by their inherent dominant failure modes instead of conventional fabrication-based sorting, and analyzes advanced durability optimization strategies for each category. Cross-study performance comparisons are conducted under failure-mode-matched standardized test protocols, alongside the discussion of per - and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulatory phase-out as a core factor for durability strategy selection. Future progress relies on taking durability as a pre-fabrication design priority, coupled with scenario-aligned unified evaluation systems.