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.