Robust superhydrophobic SiO2/GPE/MWCNTs durable composite coating with photothermal and electrothermal effect for passive anti-icing/active de-icing

To solve the problem of icing on the wind turbine blades, here an anti-icing coating composed of PDMS and PVDF as organic bonding frameworks, GPE, MWCNTs, and modified SiO2 nanoparticles as functional doping phases is synthesized through a one-step spraying method. The coating exhibits excellent superhydrophobic properties with a large contact angle of about 167.0° and a low sliding angle of4.0° and excellent photothermal and electrothermal properties. Under light and electric heating conditions, the coating can be rapidly heated to a high temperature level of about 68.4 °C at 81 s and 48.5 °C at <61 s, respectively. The static water droplet icing experiment shows that the coating can effectively delay the freezing time and reduce the adhesion strength of ice. The freezing rain experiment further showed that under the coordination of photothermal and electrothermal, freezing rain droplets will not freeze on the coating, indicating an excellent anti-icing ability. Meanwhile, the coating also exhibits a superior de-icing ability under the coordination of photothermal and electrothermal. In addition, various performance experiments, including acid and alkali immersion, friction and wear, and impact experiment are also performed to demonstrate the excellent stability and durability of the coating.