Preparation and performance study of self-repairing coating with superhydrophobic properties

Electricity has become one of the most important energy sources required for the operation of today's society, and related electrical facilities are constantly being constructed. However, the environment in which electrical facilities are located is complex, how to protect their key components from corrosion has become an urgent problem to be solved. In this study, a kind of superhydrophobic coating with self-repairing properties was prepared based on polycarbonate polyurethane, which can be used to some extent as an anti-corrosion coating in electrical systems. A series of polyurethanes were prepared by adjusting the ratio of various crosslinkers, and the formula that can produce the best comprehensive performance was determined. Specifically, due to the action of disulfide bonds and hydrogen bonds, the prepared polyurethane can achieve a maximum fracture strength of 7.99 MPa and a fracture elongation of 749.19 %, while also having a self-repairing efficiency of 90.86 %. By spraying modified SiO2 to the surface, the polyurethane surface has excellent superhydrophobic properties, with a maximum WCA of 169.67°, and still maintains superhydrophobic properties after being worn for 2100 cm by 800 mesh sandpaper. And the coating also has excellent anti-corrosion property with protecting Q235 metal steel from corrosion in NSS test for 120 h. It has shown great potential in the anti-corrosion application of metal materials in electrical systems. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.