Armored Superhydrophobic Ceramic Surfaces with Robust Weather Resistance

Outdoor insulators are prone to pollution flashover caused by water films or contamination accumulation. Although traditional superhydrophobic coatings can stay dry and self-cleaning, their service performance is compromised by poor durability under environmental aging. Here, an armored superhydrophobic ceramic surface is presented, where nanoparticles are bonded into the microstructures via inorganic sintering, thereby eliminating the need for organic polymer bonding layers. For the outdoor application of insulators, their weather resistance is evaluated. This surface exhibits exceptional environmental resistance against water impact, UV radiation, condensation, salt spray, and chemical corrosion. Specifically, accelerated UV aging tests reveal the surface maintains stable superhydrophobicity after 3000 h of exposure, outperforming traditional organic superhydrophobic surfaces more than 60 times. Field exposure results further confirm its functionality over 200 days in real outdoor environments. For pollution flashover resistance, its pollution flashover voltage of the surface surpasses that of room-temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber and bare ceramic surfaces by 70% and 148%, respectively. This work presents an innovative design strategy for outdoor insulators, which demonstrates promising potential for enhancing power grid stability by mitigating long-term pollution flashover risks through superhydrophobic surfaces with robust weather resistance.