Rational Design of Comprehensive Liquid-Like Coatings with Highly Transparent, Excellent Durability, and Solar...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Traditional solar anti-icing materials are opaque, limiting applications requiring transparency.
• Developing transparent surfaces that can generate heat from sunlight is crucial for advanced functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a highly transparent and durable solar anti-icing and de-icing surface.
• To demonstrate a method for creating multifunctional coatings balancing transparency, wettability, and mechanical strength.

Main Methods:

• Spray-coating a surface with an ultrathin MXene layer and a PFPE hydrophobic layer, using TEOS as a bridging molecule.
• Integrating photothermal (MXene) and lubricative (PFPE) properties through structural and molecular design.
• Testing transparency (light transmittance at 550 nm), photothermal performance (temperature rise), liquid repellency (sliding angles), and durability (adhesion/detachment cycles, pH stability).

Main Results:

• Achieved >80% light transmittance at 550 nm and a temperature rise >30 °C under 1.0 sun.
• Demonstrated excellent lubricity with low sliding angles for various liquids and self-cleaning capabilities.
• Confirmed superior durability, maintaining performance after 1,000 cycles and exposure to extreme pH.

Conclusions:

• The developed coating ingeniously balances transparency, wettability, and mechanical strength for effective anti/de-icing.
• This study provides a design blueprint for manufacturing durable, multifunctional coatings for active and passive anti/de-icing.
• The spray-coating method enables application on both rigid and flexible substrates.