Evaluation and optimizing silicone based coating for anti-ice application

冰、雪、污染物或其混合物在室外建筑物表面的沉积会严重影响其性能。各种预防方法被用来最大限度地减少这些表面上的冰和污染积累的问题。其中一种是使用防冰涂料来抑制或延缓冰雪在表面上的形成和附着。防冰表面是指表面上的冰附着强度显著降低，并且可以很容易地从表面上去除冰堆积的表面。我们的合作伙伴Nano Phyll智能涂料是防涂鸦涂料的制造商。本课题的目标是通过在聚合物基体中引入微纳米粒子，研制一种具有憎冰性能的新型防涂鸦涂料，并通过实验设计（DoE）优化微纳米粒子和纳米粒子的种类和用量以及添加剂的种类和用量，以获得憎冰性能。采用DoE方法以减少实验次数，并利用水接触角、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和SEM分析研究了所开发表面的润湿性和物理化学特性。采用冰附着力测试方法对新型涂料的憎冰性能进行了评价.如果目前的NanoPhyll涂料能够成为憎冰涂料，那么尚未得到充分利用的魁北克和加拿大的防粘NanoPhyll涂料将得到重视，公司将拥有新的市场机会。UQAC有能力和设施来实施这一项目。这也将为UQAC、Nano Phyll和另一个行业之间的最终合作开辟道路，该行业将成为该产品的最终用户，其目标是进一步开发憎冰涂层及其商业化。

The deposition of ice, snow, pollution or their mixtures on the surface of outdoor structures may severely affecttheir performance. Various preventative methods are used to minimize the problems of ice and pollution buildup on these surfaces. Among them is to use an icephobic coating to inhibit or delay the formation and adhesionof ice and snow on the surface.An ice repellent surface is a surface on which the ice adhesion strength is significantly lowered and where iceaccumulation can be easily removed from the surface.Our partner Nano Phyll smart coating, a manufacture of anti-graffiti coatings. The objective of the project is todevelop a new anti-graffiti coating with icephobic property by incorporation of micro-nanoparticle intopolymer matrix.The type and amount of micro- and nanoparticles as well as the type and amount of additives will be optimizedusing DoE (design of experiment) to obtain the icephobic property. The DoE method will be employed so as toreduce the number of experimental runs.The wettability and physico-chemical characterization of the developed surfaces will be studied using watercontact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and SEM analyses. The ice adhesion measurementwill be carried out to evaluate the icephobicity of the new developed coating. If the current NanoPhyll coatingcan become icephobic, underused Quebec and Canadian anti-sticking Nano Phyll coating will be valorized andthe company will have new market opportunities.UQAC has the competence and the facilities to carry out this project. This will also open the way for aneventual collaboration between UQAC, Nano Phyll, and another industry which will be the end user of theproduct with the objective of further developing ice phobic coating and its commercialization.