Enhanced anti-icing properties of branched PDMS coatings with self-regulated surface patterns

Adverse impact of icing,on either infrastructures or facilities,is the great impulsion for seeking anti-icing coatings with high performance.In this work,durable icephobic coatings with self-regulated surface patterns were developed from branched polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)co-crosslinked with fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane(POSS)through a breath figure method.The prepared coatings with patterned microstructures on the surfaces exhibited excellent anti-icing performance ascribed to micro-crack generation between ice and coating surface under a small external force.The stable cross-linked network composed of branched PDMS and fluorinated POSS endowed the coatings with durability and abrasion resistance.Low ice shear strength was achieved at approximate 19.7±2.5 kPa on coating surface with self-regulated honeycomb pattern.After experiencing 30 icing/deicing cycles,the ice shear strength of the coating varied slightly.Additionally,owing to dedication of fluorinated POSS,the coating showed merely a little increase in ice shear strength after more than 1600 abrasion cycles,which was still in the icephobic range below 50 kPa.Hence,the prepared coatings with remarkably enhanced anti-icing performance and superior mechanical stability would be promising for the practical applications.