Fluorine-free photothermal superhydrophobic coating with integrated anti-icing, deicing, anti-corrosion, and mechanical stability

Corrosion and surface icing inflict significant economic costs and resource depletion. The development of integrated protection strategies that combine both anti-corrosion and anti-icing functionalities is therefore crucial, yet remains a formidable scientific and engineering challenge. In this paper, we fabricated a fluorine-free photothermal superhydrophobic coating for integrated passive anti-icing, active deicing, and anti-corrosion applications via a facile spray-coating method. The coating, denoted as CB/ZIF-8@PDA@HD-POS@PSZ, was constructed using carbon black (CB) and ZIF-8@PDA as the key photothermal components. It exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) of 153.2 ± 0.5° and a sliding angle (SA) of 1.1 ± 0.2°, along with efficient photothermal conversion under simulated solar irradiation and superior mechanical stability. Electrochemical tests revealed a four order of magnitude increase in the low-frequency impedance modules (|Z| 0.01Hz ) and a three order of magnitude reduction in corrosion current density ( I corr ) compared to the uncoated substrates. Under conditions of −20 °C, water droplets on the coated surface exhibited 5.6 times longer freezing time than that on the uncoated substrate. Under 1.0 sun illumination, the frozen water droplets were completely melted within 409 s, demonstrating outstanding passive delayed icing and active photothermal deicing capabilities. We believe the developed fluorine-free photothermal superhydrophobic coating offers an energy-efficient and multifunctional strategy for combating corrosion and icing in harsh environments.