Hydrophobic and ice-retarding properties of doped silicone rubber coatings

In this study, room-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber coatings were prepared by spin-coating hexane-diluted suspensions onto aluminum substrates. Various amounts of carbon-black, titania or ceria nanopowders were incorporated to the coatings as dopants in order to modify their surface roughness, hydrophobic and electrical properties. By changing deposition parameters, superhydrophobic surfaces could be prepared. The freezing behavior of small water droplets was investigated on nanostructured composite surfaces exhibiting different values of wetting hysteresis and was compared with that on uncoated polished aluminum. At approximately −15 °C, the water droplets were found to freeze on polished aluminum after approximately 5 s, while their freezing was delayed to as long as ∼12–13 min on superhydrophobic nanocomposite surfaces doped with ceria or titania powders. Correlations between the wetting hysteresis (and surface roughness) of the samples and freezing time of water droplets on their surfaces were also observed. Icing tests demonstrated delayed ice formation and lower adhesion strength on superhydrophobic samples with small wetting hysteresis.