Mechanochemical Damage Self-Repairable Photothermal Anti/De-Icing Superhydrophobic Coating by Dynamic Bonding Phase-Change Fillers with the Matrix

The development of robust superhydrophobic coatings with the capacity for self-healing against mechanochemical damage is pivotal for their practical deployment. This study develops a physically and chemically self-healing superhydrophobic coating with exceptional durability for anti-icing applications using a simple spray coating method. This is achieved by incorporating phase-change fillers into a dynamic cross-linked matrix via dynamic imine bonds. Specifically, oleylamine (ODA) is encapsulated within rigid diatomite nanopores and modified with dopamine (DOA), significantly enhancing the grafting efficiency of aminopropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (NH₂-PDMS-NH₂) (N-DOA). The incorporation of 15% N-DOA increases the water contact angle (WCA) of the acrylic resin/aminopropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (AR/NH₂-PDMS-NH₂) matrix to 159.7° and reduces the sliding angle (SA) to 2.9°, while also improving the mechanical durability of coating to withstand 600 abrasion cycles. The dynamic imine bonds between NH₂-PDMS-NH₂ and trimesic acid (BTC) facilitate the mobility of N-DOA and NH₂-PDMS-NH₂, enabling rapid recovery of superhydrophobic properties and low ice adhesion strength after abrasions, scratches, oxygen plasma etching, and multiple de-icing cycles due to the synergistic phase-change effect of ODA. Thus, the self-healing coating produced via this simple spray method presents a novel approach for superhydrophobic coatings in anti-icing applications.