Ice-resistant Fe3O4@PPy coating: Enhancing stability and durability with photothermal super hydrophobicity

Developing a superhydrophobic a superhydrophobic anti-icing coating with robust mechanical attributes and chemical resilience is essential for effective anti-icing protection. This study employed fluorine-modified epoxy resin as the resin matrix and Fe₃O₄@PPy as the photothermal filler to fabricate an ice-resistant superhydrophobic coating, renowned for its exceptional mechanical endurance and corrosion resistance. With its unique micro-nano structure, the resulting coating exhibited an impressive contact angle (CA) of 158.7° and a minimal sliding angle (SA) of <1°. Even after enduring 260 cycles of sandpaper abrasion and tape peeling tests, the coating retained a CA of 157.8° and 154.2° respectively, demonstrating remarkable mechanical durability. The Fe3O4@PPy coatings exhibit excellent ice resistance with water droplets frozen time prolonging to 524 s at −20 °C. Moreover, when exposed to a light intensity of 100 mW/cm², the coating rapidly heated to 82.4 °C, effectively facilitating de-icing and defrosting, while reducing ice adhesion strength by 88.4 %, underscoring its exceptional anti-icing efficacy. These findings underscore the potential of durable and chemically stable anti-·icing coatings to deliver sustained anti-icing benefits and hold promising practical applications.