Structural Design of Acrylates and Silicone Resins with Short-Fluoro-Chain Segments and Photothermal Synergistic Enhanced Hydrophobic and Anti-icing Performance

A short-fluorocarbon-chain acrylate polymer was synthesized via solution polymerization, and a short-fluorocarbon-chain silicone resin was designed and prepared as a curing agent. Using the prepared MXene as a photothermal functional filler, a functional coating with photothermal properties was prepared. The synergistic effect between the short-fluorocarbon-chain organosiloxane chain and the short-fluorocarbon-chain acrylate can significantly enhance the low surface energy properties of the coating. Meanwhile, with the photothermal conversion function of MXene, the migration of short fluorocarbon chains to the coating surface can be effectively promoted, thereby further strengthening the waterproof and deicing performance of the coating. This work investigated the influence of the synergistic effect of low surface energy and MXene photothermal properties on enhancing the hydrophobic performance of the coating. The results showed that when BFN (short-fluorocarbon-chain silicone resin) accounted for half of BMF (short-fluorocarbon-chain acrylate polymer) (BMF@BFN-50%), compared with BFN-1, the water contact angle of BFN-5 increased by 12.4°, with a growth rate of 13%. After the addition of MXene, under the irradiation equivalent to 1 Sun light, the temperature growth rate of the coating surface reached 192%, the ice melting and defrosting efficiencies increased by 72% and 129%, respectively, and the water contact angle increased by nearly 12%. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that as the temperature increases, the fluorine chains become more flexible, especially from 26.1 to 92.5 °C, which promotes dynamic surface rearrangement and helps prevent ice adhesion. The results show that the addition of photothermal materials synergistically enhances the hydrophobicity of the polymer coating containing short fluorocarbon chains, which can be effectively used for anti-icing/deicing.