The 9th International Conference on Surface Engineering (ICSE 2024)

Superhydrophobic surfaces integrated with great water-repellency have been extensively studied while their practical applications are restrained by the infirm rough structures and poor chemical durability. In this work, durable superhydrophobic composite coatings with repairable microstructures and self-healing property have been constructed by innovatively introducing the phase change materials, elastic fluororubber and microcapsules. Fluororubber powders as elastic micro-supports endow the surface structures with reversible deformation and the responsive release of fluorinated silicone oil from microcapsules can repair the damaged surface low-surface-energy materials, resulting in the recover of superhydrophobicity after abrasion and strong acid/alkali immersion. Moreover, the fabricated coating possessed good anti-corrosion and anti-scaling properties in high salinity oil/water emulsion due to the controllable selective superwettability, which can transform the surface shielding layer from fragile air film to stable oil film to impede scaling and corrosion mediums. Thus, this study provides simple and effective approaches for fabricating durable superhydrophpobic coatings with self-healing and anti-scaling properties. Further, it paves the way for developing superhydrophobic coatings that can be used in under harsh environments, such as in oil-gas gathering and transferring pipelines.
 

Superhydrophobic; Repairable microstructures; Anti-corrosion; Anti-scaling; Self-healing