PREPARATION OF TRANSPARENT SUPERHYDROPHOBIC COATINGS WITH ANTI-ICING, ANTI-FOGGING AND SELF-CLEANING PROPERTIES BY PLASMA POLYMERISATION AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Abstract

This study analyses the stability of superhydrophobic coatings produced by plasma polymerisation at atmospheric pressure using argon (Ar) as the base gas and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) as the precursor. The evaluation was aimed at determining the strength and durability of these coatings when exposed to various environmental factors such as fogging, anti-icing and temperature fluctuations. The superhydrophobic properties of the coatings were investigated by measuring contact angles and surface roughness values. The results show that the coatings obtained by the above mentioned method have significant water repellent property and retain their superhydrophobic characteristics for a long time. The results indicate that the combination of Ar and HMDSO in plasma polymerisation at atmospheric pressure is a promising approach to create stable and durable superhydrophobic surfaces suitable for various applications. The main focus is on the stability of coatings, their ability to resist icing and fogging. The study showed that the hydrophobic properties of the coatings can be improved by optimising the process parameters, resulting in coatings with a water contact angle of more than 154±2 degrees and high transparency of up to 98.5% in the visible range. The obtained results testify to the high efficiency of the proposed method of obtaining coatings, which opens up prospects for their application in various fields where high resistance and transparency to external influences are required.

Keywords: plasma polymerization, atmospheric pressure, superhydrophobic coatings.