Patent ID: 7914856

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an article having a wetting-resistant surface comprising: providing a mixture comprising a plurality of micron-sized first particles and a plurality of nano-sized second particles, and a binder; wherein the micron-sized first particles have a median particle size in the range from about 1 micrometer to about 100 micrometers; and wherein the nano-sized second particles have a median particle size in the range from about 10 nanometers to about 500 nanometers; depositing the mixture onto a substrate to form a wetting-resistant surface via a thermal spray process, wherein the mixture is deposited without substantial melting of the first and second particles, wherein the binder gets deformed and binds the particles to the surface of the substrate during deposition, and binds the nano-sized particles to the micron-sized particles; wherein the wetting-resistant surface has a wettability sufficient to generate, with a reference fluid of water or alcohol, a static contact angle of greater than about 90 degrees; and wherein the wetting-resistant surface has a texture comprising a plurality of micron-sized features provided by the micron-sized particles, and wherein the plurality of features further comprises a plurality of nano-scale features provided by the nano-sized particles, and wherein the plurality of nanoscale features are disposed onto the plurality of micron-sized features.