Transparent, Anti-Fouling and Mechanically Stable Coating with Hybrid Architecture Inspired by Corn Bracts-Coating Strategy

Abstract

In the quest for advanced coatings suitable for foldable electronics and photovoltaic systems, there is a pressing need for materials that combine transparency with durability. To address this, innovative special horizontal stripes transparent (SHT) coating is prepared by capillary gravity self-assembly methods. This coating is derived from the structural principles of corn bracts and is created through the crosslinking of epoxy hydrophobic modified SiO₂ with an epoxy organosilicon prepolymer, bridged by a double terminal amino polydimethylsiloxane. The special pattern of the surface makes the SHT coating more transparent than glass, and the special bionic structure is proven to be highly durable under extreme temperature fluctuations, withstanding tests from 150 to −20 °C over 192 h, and enduring 30 days of ultraviolet radiation exposure at 365 nm with an intensity of 30 W m⁻². Moreover, even after 3000 cycles of scissors abrasion, the SHT maintained its anti-fouling properties and mechanical resilience. It also demonstrated remarkable chemical stability across a range of solvents. The SHT coating can be easily applied to various flexible and rigid substrates using a brush, the SHT coating is poised to find broad applications in the realm of foldable optical devices.