Robust, transparent, and superhydrophobic PVDF-TrFE/PDMS nanofiber coatings for anti-fogging and anti-icing
Alix Marcelle Sansi Seukep, Damas Rossel Pandzou, Zhixiang Cui, Dhandapani Kuzhandaivel, Lionel Kinkpe, Xuan Zhou, Zixiang Weng, Longhui Zheng, Jianlei Wang, Xiaohong Ding, Lixin Wu
Abstract
Superhydrophobic coatings often present a trade-off between transparency and mechanical robustness for glass substrates. Inspired by the general concept of natural superhydrophobic surfaces, a highly transparent superhydrophobic anti-icing composite coating based on a Polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE)/Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) blend polymer via electrospinning technology has been developed. By constructing a PVDF-TrFE/PDMS nanofiber network on a silanized trimethylsilane (TMS-s) /polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) promoter layer (which acts as an interface-strengthening layer), the gradient structure design of the functional coating on the glass substrate was successfully realized. Experimental results demonstrate that the TMS-s/PDMS promoter layer significantly enhances the interfacial bonding strength between the PVDF-TrFE/PDMS nanofibers and the glass substrate, achieving a water contact angle of 154.1° ± 4°, a sliding angle of 3° ± 1°, and approximately 92.6 % transmittance. The adhesion-enhancing mechanism is further investigated through molecular dynamics simulation analysis. Results reveal that the introduction of TMS-s increases interfacial adhesion, attributed to strong siloxane bonds formed between TMS-s and the glass surface, as well as Si-O-C bonds between TMS-s and PDMS. This combination of interactions significantly improves the coating's mechanical robustness. This study provides a novel strategy for multifunctional protective coatings in applications such as building windows, solar panels, automotive windshields, and aircraft windows.