Sprayable superhydrophobic coating with high processibility and rapid damage-healing nature

Superhydrophobic coatings simultaneously exhibiting high substrate binding, mechanical robustness and damage-healing properties are of great significance for practical applications. In this work, an effective silicone-based paint was developed to prepare superhydrophobic coating for the first time with the abovementioned properties. The paint is formulated with supramolecular silicone polymers and silica nanoparticles, which can be sprayed on solid substrates and assembled into porous films with enhanced water repellency. The abundant hydrogen bonds and coordination bonds in the supramolecular silicone polymers provided additional substrate binding and damage-healing properties. The coating can maintain water-repellency upon a series of tests including tape peeling, sandpaper abrasion and underwater placement. They can repeatedly heal chemical and topographical defects by simple thermal treatment due to the dynamic intermolecular crosslinking and chemical reorganization of the supramolecular polymers. Taking advantages of their high processibilty, multifaceted robustness and inherent healing ability, the developed superhydrophobic coatings hold great promise for applications in liquid transportation, oil-water separation, anti-icing and drag reduction.