Non-whitening superhydrophobic coating for heritage protection

s Superhydrophobic coatings have shown great potential in heritage protection due to their excellent wetting resistance, yet whitening problems have limited their widespread use. Here, we present a non-whitening superhydrophobic coating of nano-SiO 2 and perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane for cultural heritage protection, prepared with the assistance of an ultrasound probe. Due to the high efficiency of the probe sonication , the nanoparticles almost retain their original size, and a porous micro–nano hierarchical structure on the surface is formed, as a result, a non-whitening superhydrophobic coating was obtained. The coating exhibits a high water contact angle of 154.7° and a low roll-off angle of 1.7°, dynamic wetting properties such as anti-jet impact, anti-adhesion, anti-evaporation pressure of droplets, rolling, bouncing, anti-fouling and self-cleaning, and long-term resistance to heat, 254 nm UV radiation , acid, alkali, and sand impact. This coating is suitable for bronze, iron, pottery, sandstone, ivory, lacquer, and other artifacts, and has the potential to address various water-related diseases.