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Dynamic Anti-Icing Coatings: Complex, Amphiphilic Hyperbranched Fluoropolymer Poly(ethylene glycol) Cross-Linked Networks with an Integrated Liquid Crystalline Comonomer

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posted on 2016-07-18, 15:05 authored by Jennifer S. Zigmond, Adriana Pavía-Sanders, Joel D. Russell, Karen L. Wooley
Amphiphilic hyperbranched fluoropolymer coatings incorporating liquid crystalline moieties and poly­(ethylene glycol) cross-linkers were found to demonstrate noteworthy anti-icing properties. A series of amphiphilic networks was synthesized through variation of the polymer molecular weights and hydrophilic/hydrophobic component ratios. These innovative materials show a remarkable reduction in the free water melting transition (Tm) temperature (−10 °C), measured by differential scanning calorimetry, and an increase in water contact angle for dry and water-swollen systems. The addition of this ordered parameter generated a unique coating topography, which can be visualized via polarized optical microscopy and 3D optical microscopy, while maintaining an overall macroscopic homogeneity.

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