Hierarchical porous superhydrophobic protective coatings for extreme environments

For extreme conditions requiring durable anti-icing, corrosion and damage resistance, we report a thermally self-repairing, photothermal superhydrophobic coating with a hierarchical porous framework structure from conductive carbon black, inorganic nanoparticles, and polymers. The coating achieves a water contact angle of 165.4° and a sliding angle of 3°. It demonstrates exceptional chemical durability, maintaining superhydrophobicity after immersion in strong acid (pH = 1) for 12 days and strong alkali (pH = 14) for 24 days. Furthermore, it exhibits outstanding anti-icing performance, including a prolonged icing delay time of 3028 s at −15 °C and rapid, solar-assisted deicing within 28 s. Even after damage-induced loss of superhydrophobicity, the property can be recovered by a simple thermal treatment for 2 h, owing to the robustness and structurally intact of the porous hierarchical framework structure. This synergistic design provides a feasible strategy for achieving durable anti-icing protection on critical equipment under extreme environmental conditions.