Design and preparation of a multi-fluorination organic superhydrophobic coating with high mechanical robustness and icing delay ability

Biomimetic superhydrophobic coatings have attracted significant attention from academia and industry. However, superhydrophobic surfaces become vulnerable and lose water-repellency due to their poor mechanical stability in complex environments. Herein, a novel fluorinated resin matrix and perfluoro mercaptopropionate hydrophobic agent were designed and fabricated based on thiol-ene click reaction, which were used to prepare a multi-fluorination organic superhydrophobic coating by mixing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles and triethylenetetramine. In addition to the high superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning performance, the coatings exhibited outstanding mechanical robustness under sandpaper abrasion for 100 cycles, which could be attributed to the high adhesion of the fluorinated resin matrix. The organic superhydrophobic coating maintained excellent superhydrophobicity after exposure to acid corrosion, knife-scratching, and finger-wiping damage. Moreover, the coatings exhibited good icing delay ability outdoors at −10 °C. This paper presents a novel preparation method and application for superhydrophobic coatings. [Display omitted] •Novel fluorinated resin matrix and hydrophobic agent were prepared by click reaction.•The organic superhydrophobic coating had excellent mechanical robustness.•The organic superhydrophobic coating possessed better icing delay performance.