Novel Suspension Plasma Sprayed Superhydrophobic Coatings And Investigating Their Durability For Anti-Icing Application

Superhydrophobic coatings have many significant potential applications including anti-icing. Commercially available superhydrophobic sprays are typically polymer-based that have poor durability and thus are rarely used for anti-icing purposes. On the other hand durable materials such as metals and ceramics are naturally hydrophilic. Fortunately, the wettability of a surface can be altered by not only its chemical composition, but also its surface morphology.

In this study, suspension plasma spraying is used to create coatings with dual-roughness morphology. The static and dynamic wetting behavior of these coatings are investigated. Surface morphology is characterized by SEM and Confocal Microscopy. Furthermore, chemical composition and crystal structure of coatings are studied using EDS and XRD. Durability of the coatings is assessed using an icing wind tunnel where they are exposed to water droplet impacts under particular icing conditions. Durability of the produced superhydrophobic coatings is then compared to those of commercially available superhydrophobic coated samples.