Design and properties of self-healing superhydrophobic CNT@SiO2 coating for anti-icing application

Superhydrophobic coatings have aroused great research interest due to their potential applications in aviation, energy, etc. However, the coatings are inclined to lose hydrophobicity when exposed to chemical corrosion, which makes them difficult to play a crucial role in some demanding areas such as road engineering. Self-healing of coatings without external stimulations is challenging but essential for reliable superhydrophobic and anti-ice properties, such an interesting topic has been rarely reported. Here we design a self-healing superhydrophobic CNT@SiO2 coating for anti-ice application. The dodecyl trimethoxysilane modified CNT@SiO2 nanoparticles are mixed with epoxy resin and sprayed to form the robust coating, which exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity (155.1°), self-healing properties and ice resistance. After seven strong alkali corrosion cycles, the self-healing rate recover more than 96% after 48 h. The coating almost doubles the freezing time even at −20 °C. The novel and simple strategy for preparing self-healing and anti-icing multifunctional coating provides a new viewpoint in surface protection.