Preparation of PDMS/EEC/SiO₂ composite super-hydrophobic coatings with excellent anti-guano adhesion performance

A low-cost and no-toxicity approach was presented to fabricate super-hydrophobic coatings via depositing hydroxy-terminated poly-dimethylsioxane and 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3′, 4′-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate grafted nano-silica particles on substrates. The surface morphology, wettability, and anti-guano adhesion performance of as-prepared coatings were investigated. Results show the micro-nano hierarchical structures were formed on the surface of as-prepared coatings. The coatings exhibit super-hydrophobicity with a water static contact angle of 156° and sliding angle of 3°. Excellent anti-guano adhesion performances are also exhibited by the coatings, and the residue amount of guano captured by the coating only accounts for 0.3% of that captured by glass surface, making the as-prepared coating a promising candidate as an anti-guano strategy for both industry and everyday life (e.g. insulators for overhead power lines, buildings, statues and cars).