A robust photothermal superhydrophobic anti/de-icing composite coating fabricated from BP/SiO2 on a modified fluorocarbon coating base

Anti/de-icing coatings to equipment surface are emergingly becoming an essential protection against ice formation and accumulation, especially when they serve in harsh environments. Herein, a novel approach for obtaining photothermal superhydrophobic anti/de-icing FCF-BP/SiO₂ coating with prominent abrasion resistance properties was presented. The fluoroalkyl silane and amino silane were polymerized at elevated temperatures and then closely combined with the resin and curing agent to obtain a film-forming polymer. This polymerization process involved the reaction of amino group on the surface of the modified fluorocarbon resin with the isocyanate group in the curing agent. Then the polypyrrole-coated basalt scales (BP) and SiO₂ NPs were employed to the modified coating system to construct a wear-resistant microscopic surface structure by the inverse infusion process (IIP). The water contact angle (CA) and the sliding angle (SA) of the tested coating was up to 155° ± 2° and 1.5° ± 0.5°, respectively, delaying the icing time to 656 s and maintaining the ice adhesion strength lower than 20 kPa after several icing-deicing cycles. It was verified that the FCF-BP/SiO₂ coating remained superhydrophobic and exhibited excellent mechanical durability even after 300 times of abrasion with sandpaper and 100 times of tape-peeling. Even at −10 °C, the frost (accumulated at −10 °C for 2 h) or ice cube (0.5 g) on the FCF-BP/SiO₂ coating could be effectively removed by 1.00 Sun within approximately 309 s and 760 s, respectively. This provides potential applications for fabricating functional anti/de-icing materials in some prospective fields including marine or aviation fields.