A facile method to fabricate the durable and self-protective coating for marine applications

Endowing coatings with effective protective function for metal substrates is of great interest. An excellent example is slippery liquid infused surface (SLIS) which possesses potential applications owing to its unique liquid repellency and self-cleaning properties. However, their widespread applications are facing obstacles of complex preparation, poor protection and low durability. Herein, a facile and efficient liquid infusion method was proposed to construct SLIS by altering the heterogeneous microstructure on the SiO_x layer of the coatings with direct UV irradiation. The coatings were fabricated by conducting an appropriate UV irradiation treatment on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film infused with methyl oleate (MO). The as-prepared transparent anti-fouling coatings showed outstanding anti-fouling properties against various contaminants such as algal (Chlorella), sand, rust (Fe₂O₃), paints (both water-based and oil-based) and daily life liquid pollutants (e.g., water, coffee, cola, soy sauce and milk). In addition, results revealed that the coatings exhibited a prominent anti-corrosion performance. Moreover, the coatings had excellent mechanical, chemical and thermal durability regarding the great repellency of the pollutants. We proposed this synergistic strategy between lubricant infusion and coating heterogeneous microstructure to widen new possibilities for fabricating coatings with promissing anti-corrosive and anti-fouling functionality.