Facile Fabrication of a Mechanical, Chemical, Thermal, and Long-Term Outdoor Durable Fluorine-Free Superhydrophobic Coating

Despite their great self-cleaning, anti-dust, and anti-icing properties superhydrophobic coatings show great promise in various practical applications in solar cells, car windows, powerlines, etc., superhydrophobic coatings encounter a large resistance in large-scale practical applications due to their unsatisfactory long-term mechanical, chemical, thermal, and weathering durability. This study demonstrates a cost-effective, large-scale applicable, mechanical, chemical, thermal, and long-term weathering durable fluorine-free superhydrophobic coating. This coating can be prepared with a simple spin-coating or doctor-blade painting or spray-brush method, using SiO2 nanoparticles coated with methyl MQ silicone resin (Me-MQ), and y-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH-570). This coating displays remarkable super-hydrophobic performance with a large water contact angle of 168.8 degrees, and a small sliding angle less than 1.0 degrees, which survives tape peeling, sand impact, sandpaper abrasion, etching in acidic and alkaline environments, baking at high temperature up to 550 degrees C, and long-term exposure to outdoor natural environment (under 16 months' natural sunlight irradiation, UV irradiation, rain falls, high PM2.5, dust accumulation, etc.). The materials used are non-fluorine, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and can be effectively applied to large glass surfaces using cost-effective doctor-blade painting and spray-brush methods towards large-scale applications. Therefore, this work can inspire and advance researches on superhydrophobic coatings towards practical applications.

Automated summary

This study introduces a fluorine-free superhydrophobic coating with excellent durability and weathering resistance, which can be applied in large-scale applications such as solar cells and car windows.