Eco‐friendly UV‐curable polyurethane‐silica superhydrophobic coating with superb mechanical durability

Abstract Herein, a facile, scalable, and cost‐effective method was used to fabricate eco‐friendly superhydrophobic UV‐curable polyurethane‐silica nanocomposite coating with promising physicomechanical properties. Fluorinated UV‐curable polyurethane dispersion was synthesized and used as the binder of the superhydrophobic coating along with hydrophobically modified silica nanoparticles as textured topography. The chemical structures of the employed silica nanoparticles, prepared UV‐curable polymer, and superhydrophobic coating were thoroughly studied by FTIR analysis. It has been revealed that the prepared SH coating possesses well‐defined micro/nano‐scale roughness, high contact angle (159°), and low sliding angle (1.5°), which can be applied onto various substrates. Also, the exceptional durability of the fabricated coating against sandpaper abrasion (over 80 m) without losing its superhydrophobicity revealed the high capability of the prepared waterborne coating to be used in harsh practical applications. Additionally, due to the highly cross‐linked structure of the prepared SH coating, the applied coating could maintain its integrity even after 30 days of immersion in different organic solvents. Moreover, the prepared coatings showed substantial potential for use in self‐cleaning and oil/water separation fields (> 98% efficiency after 15 cycles of oil/water separations). We are convinced that the prepared hybrid coating could offer a practical approach for fabricating of superhydrophobic materials as promising nominates for disparate fields.