Superhydrophobic surfaces often rely on specific surface chemistry or texturing to provide their extreme water repellency. Surface damage results in a loss of this property, although progress has been made in making self-healing materials that can restore either the surface architecture or chemistry. Lv et al. developed an epoxy shape-memory polymer with a lotus leaf-like surface texture that gives it superhydrophobicity. When damaged with an O2 plasma or physically crushed, the surface properties can be restored simply by heating the material to 85°C, with full restoration occurring even after several cycles of damage and recovery.
Small 10.1002/smll.201503402 (2016).
