Superhydrophilic Anti-Icing Coatings Based on Polyzwitterion Brushes.

In this work, an anti-icing coating based on superhydrophilic polyzwitterion brushes is reported. Poly-(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) brushes were synthesized by surface-initiated atom-transferred radical polymerization to create superhydrophilic films on silicon wafers. The thickness of the PSBMA brushes film increased linearly with the polymerization time, and the film remained super-hydrophilic in a nonassociated state when the thickness was less than similar to 100 nm. DSC and FTIR analyses revealed that PSBMA contains more nonfreezable bound water than typical polyelectrolytes such as poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) and poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyltrimethylammonium chloride), leading to lower ice adhesion strength than the latter two. At -20 degrees C, the PSBMA brushes coating demonstrated low ice adhesion strength of 60 kPa, showing a significant reduction in ice adhesion by up to similar to 75% compared to uncoated silicon wafer. The optimum PSBMA layer thickness for low ice adhesion was similar to 100 nm. These findings suggest that polyzwitterions are excellent candidates for anti-icing coating application.