Superoleophobic surfaces on stainless steel substrates obtained by chemical bath deposition

Superhydrophobic surfaces have shown great potential in domestic and industrial applications. However, these surfaces lose their superhydrophobic functions once being contaminated by oily liquids. In this work a simple chemical bath deposition method is reported to fabricate superoleophobic surfaces on steel substrates that repel both water and oil. The synthesis of superoleophobic surfaces involves the fabrication of the micro/nanometre-scale origami-ball-like structures on steel substrates, followed by the modification of low surface energy material. The fabricated surfaces have glycerol, peanut oil and hexadecane contact angles larger than 150° and roll-off angles smaller than 10°. This method is highly efficient because it takes only 5 min to create the surface re-entrant structures that are required by superoleophobicity. The prepared surfaces showed remarkable durability and retained superoleophobicity even after exposure to high and low temperatures (−30 and 100°C), and UV irradiation. This work will enrich the processing methods of the superoleophobic surfaces on stainless steel substrates.