Effective large-scale deicing based on the interfacial toughness tuning of a UV-curable PDMS coating

In this study, the effective large-scale deicing based on the interfacial toughness-tuning strategy of an ultraviolet-curable PDMS coating was developed. Methacrylate groups were grafted on the hydroxyl-terminated PDMS molecular chains to endow PDMS the response to UV irradiation. Then the precursor was doped with different proportions of silicon dioxide nanoparticle (SiO2 NP) to tune the interfacial toughness between the coating and the ice layer. The PDMS coating was fabricated through manual spraying and the polymerization under UV irradiation. The effects of the amounts of the methacrylate groups and SiO2 NP on the deicing properties of UV-curable PDMS coatings were investigated systematically. In addition, it was found that the large-scale deicing performance of the PDMS coating with 10% SiO2 NP improved when lowering the ambient temperature, which was mainly related to the increase of the shear modulus and thermal residual stress on the interface and might indicate attractive advantage on the extremely cold environment. Meanwhile, the durability and the adaptability to different substrates of the PDMS coating were also examined for the verification of the possible practical application. In summary, the effective large-scale deicing based on the interfacial toughness tuning of a UV-curable PDMS coating was achieved and the coating showed great potential for practice.