Fabrication of a silane-modified superhydrophobic TiO₂‒PVDF‒FEP coating with scale inhibition performance

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) whiskers modified with octadecyltrimethoxysilane were incorporated into the coating solution through a solution blending method. The superhydrophobic coating was designed and fabricated using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyperfluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) as the main constituents, while silane-modified TiO₂ whiskers as the fillers. The results demonstrated that after a 360-h scaling test, the mass of CaCO₃ on the surface of the resulted silane-modified superhydrophobic TiO₂‒PVDF‒FEP coating was only 1.90 mg·cm⁻², decreased by 37.1% and 16.7% compared with those on the PVDF‒FEP coating and the TiO₂‒PVDF‒FEP coating, respectively. The synergistic effects of the air film, silane-modified TiO₂ whiskers, and superhydrophobicity ensure that this superhydrophobic TiO₂‒PVDF‒FEP coating has excellent scale inhibition performance. This study presents a novel approach for advancing the development of superhydrophobic coatings, offering promising prospects for industrial-scale applications in preventive measures.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

TiO ₂ whisker / silane modification / poly(vinylidene fluoride) / scale inhibition / superhydrophobic coating

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