Superhydrophobic F-SiO2/tea polyphenol coating with high efficiency photothermal anti-icing and de-icing properties

Ice accumulation is an important challenge for daily life and industrial production. The photothermal effect offers a promising approach for active de-icing to address this issue. While the photothermal effect of polyphenol-metal ion complex is extensively studied in photothermal cancer therapy, its application in de-icing remains relatively unexplored. Herein, a durable photothermal superhydrophobic coating was designed by combining F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe (Tea polyphenol-Fe3+) nanoparticles and silicone resin using a one-step spray method. Due to the unique micro-nano structure, the resulting coating exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity, characterized by water contact angle (CA) of up to 159° and sliding angle (SA) of less than 2.5°. Additionally, the coating demonstrated reliable mechanical durability and chemical stability, as evidenced by its good performance in sandpaper abrasion, tape peeling and electrochemical corrosion tests. Moreover, owing to the efficient photothermal conversion of F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe nanoparticles, surface temperature of the coating can quickly reach 81 ℃ under 1 kW/m2 simulated sunlight irradiation (1 Sun). The prepared coating exhibits over three times delayed icing time under 1 sun irradiation at − 25 °C in comparison to the absence of light. And the coating also exhibits stable de-icing and defrosting cycle performance. These findings demonstrate effective synergistic effect of anti-icing and de-icing in the F-SiO2 @Tp/Fe photothermal superhydrophobic coating, showcasing its promising application potential in practical engineering.