A supramolecular polydimethysiloxane-based coating with tunable surface topography for photothermal-enhanced sterilization, self-healing and anti/de-icing

Abstract

Supramolecular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based materials have been receiving enormous research attention owing to their distinct properties such as intrinsic hydrophobicity, low toxicity and self-healing ability, which are in great demand in various applications. However, it remains challenging to endow them with multiple functions and maintain or even enhance their original attributes simultaneously. Here, a novel polymer coating is designed and fabricated by incorporating photothermal ferrosoferric oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) with a supramolecular PDMS network dynamically crosslinked via intramolecular imine bonding and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Under the superior photothermal effect induced by near-infrared (NIR) light, the prepared coating exhibits significantly improved sterilization, self-healing and anti/de-icing capabilities, and specifically, the sterilization efficiency can reach up to 99.4 %, the deep cut can heal completely within 50 s, the ice-free state can be expected to sustain permanently, and the accreted ice can be fully melted within 2 min. Moreover, the surface topography of this thermoplastic coating can be customized through a facile template-based secondary processing for adaptive wettability even superhydrophobicity (water contact angle ∼155.9°, sliding angle ∼4°), which could further amplify its anti-icing and other properties. Our work opens a new path to develop versatile polymer coatings for diverse applications.