Hydro- and Icephobic Properties and Durability of Epoxy Gelcoat Modified with Double-Functionalized Polysiloxanes

Abstract

Anti-icing coatings have provided a very good alternative to current, uneconomic, active deicing methods, and their use would bring a number of significant benefits to many industries, such as aviation and energy. Some of the most promising icephobic surfaces are those with hydrophobic properties. However, the relationship between hydrophobicity and low ice adhesion is not yet clearly defined. In this work, chemical modification of an epoxy gelcoat with chemical modifiers from the group of double organofunctionalized polysiloxanes (generally called multifunctionalized organosilicon compounds (MFSCs)) was applied. The anti-icing properties of manufactured coatings were determined by means of measurements of shear strength between the ice layer and the modified surface, conducted using a tensile machine. In the work, tests were also performed on the roughness, wettability, and durability of the properties in an aging chamber. It was found that the performed modifications of the coating’s chemical composition by the addition of polysiloxanes enabled us to reduce ice adhesion by 51% and to increase the water contact angle by 14% in comparison to the neat gelcoat. A reduction in ice adhesion was also observed with the increasing water contact angle and with decreasing surface roughness. In addition, only one modification recorded an increase in ice adhesion after exposure in the aging chamber.

Icephobic Coating Based on Epoxy/Polydimethylsiloxane Interpenetrating Polymer Network Gel

“…The primary consideration in verifying the icephobic performance of a coating surface is its ice adhesion strength (τ ice ) [32]. In Figure 4, the τ ice of PDMS gel coatings with varying silicone oil concentrations and epoxy/PDMS IPN gel coatings with different silicone oil concentrations are depicted at −10 • C. Similar to previous measurements, the coating τ ice increases with increasing epoxy content when the silicone oil content is constant [21]. The data also show that τ ice decreases with increasing silicone oil content for PDMS gel, as well as for epoxy/PDMS IPN gel (1:1) and epoxy/PDMS IPN gel (2:1).…”

“…Qi et al [20] utilized silicone oil-swollen trimethyl-capped PDMS to create a low-modulus organic gel coating, which resulted in an ice adhesion strength of 6.5 kPa at −10 • C. Apparently, these studies were able to achieve significantly reduced ice adhesion strength by adjusting the surface properties of the coating. However, they encountered challenges with coating durability due to the inferior mechanical properties of silicone polymers and fluoropolymers [17,21].…”

Transparent Silicone–Epoxy Coatings with Enhanced Icephobic Properties for Photovoltaic Applications

“…From such surfaces, ice is detached under the influence of natural forces such as wind, gravity, or ambient vibration [30]. The effectiveness of improving the anti-icing properties by using the chemical modification of the polymer matrix with double-functionalized polysiloxanes was proven in a work [31], achieving an IA reduction of 51% compared to the IA of the unmodified epoxy resin.…”