Development of a Sprayable All-Silicone Self-Healing Superhydrophobic Coating

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Surface Coatings and Corrosion, Institute for Color, Science and Technology, P.O. Box: 16765-654, Tehran, Iran

10.30509/jcst.2026.167882.1294

Abstract

In this study, a fluorine-free, silicone-based self-healing superhydrophobic coating was developed using a spray-coating method. The self-healing system was fabricated by dispersing two types of poly(melamine–urea–formaldehyde)-shelled microcapsules containing silanol-terminated silicone resin and dibutyltin dilaurate catalyst in the resin matrix. The average diameters of the silicone resin- and catalyst-containing microcapsules were 19 and 17 µm, respectively. The fabricated coating exhibited a water contact angle of 159° and a contact angle hysteresis of 3.9°. Incorporation of the microcapsules caused no appreciable change in the surface morphology or wettability of the coating. Microscopic observations confirmed substantial filling of the scratch after the release of the healing agents. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed maximum self-healing efficiencies of 95.74% relative to the coating without the self-healing system and 95.42% relative to the pristine sample. Moreover, despite a slight increase in ice adhesion to 18.1±1.3 kPa, the healed coating retained satisfactory icephobic performance.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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