Researchers have been using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to mimic the papillae of lotus leaves. CNT nanoforests can be made using chemical vapor deposition techniques. CNT’s can be applied on a surface to modify its water contact angle. Lau et al. created vertical CNT forests with a polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) coating that was both stable and superhydrophobic with an advancing and receding contact angle of 170° and 160°. Jung and Bhushan have created a superhydrophobic surface by spray coating CNTs with an epoxy resin. The spacing and alignment of the CNTs have been shown to impact the degree of hydrophobicity a surface has. Sun et al., have found that CNTs aligned vertically with a medium spacing display the best hydrophobic properties. Small and large spacing shows increased drop spreading, while horizontal orientation may even display hydrophilic properties.
Glass silica beads in an epoxy resin, and the electrochemical deposition of gold into dendritic structures has also created synthetic biomimetic surfaces similar to lotus leaves.