Evaluation and optimizing silicone based coating for anti-ice application

室外建筑物表面的冰、雪、污染物或其混合物的沉积可能会严重影响其性能。各种预防方法被用来最大限度地减少这些表面上的结冰和污染积聚的问题。其中一种是使用憎冰涂层来抑制或延缓冰雪在表面上的形成和粘连。拒冰表面是一种表面，其上的冰粘合强度显著降低，积冰可以很容易地从表面上清除。我们的合作伙伴Nano Phyll智能涂层是一家防涂鸦涂层的制造商。本项目的目标是通过将微纳米粒子引入到聚合物基质中来开发一种新型的防涂鸦涂料，通过实验设计来优化微纳米粒子的类型和用量以及添加剂的类型和用量，以获得抗涂鸦涂料的憎冰性能。为了减少实验次数，将采用DOE方法，并利用水接触角、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对显影表面的润湿性和物理化学特性进行研究。将进行附冰测试，以评估新开发的涂层的憎冰能力。如果目前的NanoPhyll涂层可以变得疏水性，魁北克和加拿大未得到充分利用的Nano Phyll涂层将得到评估，公司将获得新的市场机会。这也将为UQAC、Nano Phyll和另一个行业之间的最终合作铺平道路，该行业将成为该产品的最终用户，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.