Effect of PAA@SiO₂ core–shell on optical and anti-icing properties on polydimethylsiloxane-modified SiO₂ composite thin films

In this study, the effect of PAA@SiO₂ core-shell particles on polydimethylsiloxane-SiO₂ nanoparticles modified by TMMS and HDMS thin films was investigated. Initially, SiO₂ nanoparticles were modified with HDMS and TMMS. After that, the optimal amount of the PAA@SiO₂ core-shell particles was added to the modified silica solution. The PDMS-M/SiO₂-PAA@SiO₂ CSPs solution was prepared and applied on the glass substrates by the immersion method. The water contact angle, transparency, chemical composition, surface morphology, and environmental stability of the thin film were investigated using AFM and UV/vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XPS, FE-SEM, anti-icing, and UV resistance evaluation tests. The results showed that the hydrophobic coating was produced with a contact angle of 110°, a sliding angle of 10°, and a transparency of 92.87%. In addition, the anti-icing test showed an increase in the icing time for a water droplet from 270 s to 960 s and a decrease in the shear stress from 257 kPa to 87 kPa in the PAA@SiO₂ core-shell coated glass with respect to the bare glass.