Hydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces were obtained by modifying a dendritic Au surface with carboxyl- or methyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers, respectively. The hydrophilic surface generates capillary forces which induce water flow through the grooves defined by the dendritic structure, resulting in a halo structure; the superhydrophobic surface on the other hand completely repels water drops. The contrasting behaviors exhibited by the two surfaces with nominally identical morphology but different surface chemistry are explained semi-quantitatively in terms of the equilibrium of surface forces developing at the three-phase (air-solid-water) contact lines. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.