All-organic superhydrophobic cellular coatings with durability, robustness, flexibility, and liquid impalement resistance

Abstract

Recently, fully organic superhydrophobic coatings have exhibited mechanical and chemical stability, flexibility, and resistance to liquid impact, while superhydrophobic cell coatings have displayed remarkable durability. Nonetheless, achieving the simultaneous manifestation of these characteristics remains difficult. In this study, a novel nanocomposite coating is presented that integrates entirely organic components with the incorporation of cellular structures. The primary innovation is the design of an all-organic cellular structuremicrocapsules composed of flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and releasable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoseeds. The exceptional durability of this coating is demonstrated by remarkable anti-abrasion (500 g load, 20000 Taber abrasion cycles), improved resistance to corrosive attacks, including aqua regia, excellent anti-impalement (up to 48 m/s, ~56,000 Weber number), low ice adhesion strength (<20 kPa, 200 cycles), significant flexibility, and it can sustain plastron stability for over 48 hours at 1 cm underwater. Combined with straightforward scalable techniques such as brushing and spraying, these coatings are anticipated to be applicable in demanding chemical engineering environments as well as in infrastructure, transportation vehicles, and communication devices.