Solvent-Free and UV-Cured Epoxy Silicone Coating with Excellent Wear Resistance and Antismudge Properties

Transparent, hard, and flexible multifunctional coatings have a wide range of applications; however, most of them need organic solvents. Here, we present a solvent-free and UV-cured coating made from fluorinated epoxy MTQ silicone resin combined with branched triepoxy siloxane as the reactive diluent. After UV-initiated ring-opening polymerization in the presence of a triarylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate catalyst, the resultant cured coating exhibits high transparency (∼92%, 550 nm), pencil hardness (7H), and flexibility (1 mm bending diameter) due to the formed organic-inorganic nanostructures in a highly cross-linked network. The triepoxy siloxane significantly reduces the viscosity before curing and increases cross-link density of the coating. The coating without any volatile content shows a smooth surface with low roughness (R_q = 0.46 nm) and delivers an anti-smudge ability owing to perfluorinated chains inherited from the MTQ resin. Furthermore, even after 3000 abrasion cycles, the coating still has a water contact angle greater than 90°, displaying excellent wear resistance. Our work provides a promising way to access high-performance multifunctional coatings in a more sustainable manner.