Robust icephobic epoxy coating using maleic anhydride as a crosslinking agent

• Published in: Progress in organic coatings 2020-05, Vol.142, p.105561, Article 105561
• Main Authors: Lv, Jian, Zhu, Chenxi, Qiu, Haonan, Zhang, Jing, Gu, Changdong, Feng, Jie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adhesive strength; Coating; Crosslinking; Deicing; Epoxy; Epoxy coatings; Epoxy resins; Fluorinated epoxy; Fluorine; Free energy; Hydrophobicity; Ice formation; Ice removal; Icephobic; Icephobicity; Maleic anhydride; Mechanical properties; Photoelectrons; Polyamide resins; Reagents; Sanding; Solid surfaces; Surface stability; Wettability; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0300-9440; 1873-331X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2020.105561

To trains running in winter in cold regions, it is unavoidable that icing would occur on the train chassis surface. Such phenomenon negatively affects the train’s safety. The surface of the chassis generally was coated with epoxy (EP) resin for anti-corrosion; however, traditional EP coating is not icephobic and even not hydrophobic. In this work, robust hydrophobic and icephobic EP coatings were successfully prepared by using maleic anhydride (MAH) as a crosslinking agent, in addition to filling a small amount of EP resin grafted with fluorine containing chains (FEP). Furthermore, such hydrophobic and icephobic properties are not limited to the outermost surface of the coating but are also present in the coating body. After sanding with abrasive paper, the coating surface still retains its hydrophobic and icephobic properties. XPS indicates that MAH crosslinking greatly reduces the number of polar groups on the coating surface. The FEP mixture further reduces the free energy of the coating surface. As a result, the modified EP coating exhibits excellent icephobic performance. The ice formed on such surface may be removed away by its self-weight. [Display omitted] •Robust hydrophobic and icephobic epoxy (EP) coatings were prepared by using maleic anhydride (MAH) as a crosslinking agent.•Such hydrophobic and icephobic properties are not limited to the coating surface but are also present in the coating body.•After sanding with abrasive paper, the coating surface still retains its hydrophobic and icephobic properties.•XPS indicates that MAH crosslinking reduces the polar groups number on the coating surface thus brings icephobic property. In severely cold regions, it is very difficult to prevent the formation of ice on solid surfaces, even on superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces. Compared with anti-icing surfaces, icephobic surfaces are more useful in practice. In this work, a traditional epoxy coating was modified by using maleic anhydride (MAH) as a crosslinking agent, in addition to filling a small amount of epoxy resin grafted with fluorine containing chains (FEP). The wettability and the mechanical properties of the modified coating, as well as the adhesive strength of ice on the coating surface and the stability of the icephobic properties of the coating, were systematically studied. The results showed that the modified coating surface became more hydrophobic and the force required to remove ice from the surface was less than that needed for removing on the