Large-scale fabrication of durable and robust super-hydrophobic spray coatings with excellent repairable and anti-corrosion performance

Abstract

Some drawbacks such as complicated preparation processes, more expensive modification, and lack of durability have restricted the practical applications of super-hydrophobic coatings. In this paper, we present a simple and inexpensive approach to fabricating a robust super-hydrophobic coating by spraying a fluorine-free suspension composed of epoxy resin (EP), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and modified SiO2 on various substrates. This coating exhibited excellent super-hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 159.5° and a sliding angle of 3.8°. The as-prepared super-hydrophobic EP + PDMS@SiO2 coating retained super-hydrophobicity after exposure to harsh conditions including immersion in boiling water for 2 h or liquid nitrogen for 1 h, intense UV radiation for 48 h, and intense chemical corrosion. Moreover, the resulting super-hydrophobic coating can withstand various mechanical durability experiments such as tape peeling after knife scraping, hand kneading, and 100 sandpaper abrasion cycles. Furthermore, the fabricated coatings also exhibit a self-healing ability against O2 plasma etching, excellent self-cleaning in air and oil conditions and outstanding anti-corrosion performance. We believe that this easy, environmentally friendly method has great potential for large-scale practical applications in numerous fields.