Thermal Spray for Durable and Large-Area Hydrophobic and Superhydrophobic/Icephobic Coatings

An article including a substrate and a hydrophobic coating applied to a surface of the substrate, the hydrophobic coating being applied to the surface of the substrate by a thermal spray deposition process comprising:

• feeding a thermal spray apparatus with a coating precursor, the coating precursor including particles having an initial particle morphology;
• heating the particles with the thermal spray apparatus to cause the particles to at least partially melt;
• accelerating the particles towards the substrate using the thermal spray apparatus;
• and
• forming the hydrophobic coating on the substrate by allowing the particles to impact the substrate in a partially melted state in which a fraction of the initial particle morphology of at least some of the particles is retained.