A hard durable transparent antifouling coating prepared by ZrO2 and polysiloxane

Antifouling coatings face some critical challenges toward applications, particularly poor mechanical properties, complex or expensive fabrication and non-transparency. This work reports a transparent fluorine-free antifouling coating with robust mechanical properties. Water and salt, alkali and acid solutions can slide off the coating surface (water contact angle > 105 degrees) and remove dirt. The coating endows the substrate with remarkable protection against exposure to harsh chemical conditions, mechanical robustness against extensive abrasion and high hardness (6H-9H). The characteristics of this coating are derived from heavily cross-linking branched (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane with zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) ceramic nanoparticles by using a curing agent.