Mechanically Robust, Fluorine-Free TiN/GO-Al ₂ O ₃ Epoxy Composites for Photothermal Anti-icing and Ultrastable Anticorrosion

To address the critical challenge of structural steel degradation under synergistic electrochemical corrosion and freeze–thaw cycling, we engineer a fluorine-free hierarchical composite coating through scalable integration of a covalently anchored GO-Al2O3/epoxy micrometer-armor base (mechanically optimized at 1.5 wt % GO) and a TiN-based photothermal superhydrophobic top layer. This unique composite architecture achieves unprecedented multifunctionality: exceptional mechanical robustness (retaining CA > 150° after 3 m/s water jetting, 6000 rpm erosion, and 150 abrasion cycles via UMT validation) enabled by the fracture-resistant armor layer and hierarchical structure resilience, efficient solar–thermal conversion (rapid heating to 120 °C within 60 s under 1 kW/m2 irradiation) for on-demand ice melting in 40 s, and ultrastable corrosion resistance (|Z|f = 0.01 Hz = 1.0 × 1010 Ω cm2 after 30-day salt immersion) via stabilized interfacial air films locked by the micronano hierarchy. By fundamentally overcoming the fragility bottleneck and fluorine dependency of conventional superhydrophobic coatings, this scalable strategy delivers long-term anticorrosion/anti-icing protection for steel infrastructures in extreme environments.