One-step spray fabrication of superamphiphobic surface with micro-nano MWCNTs@TiO2 networks for synergistic photothermal deicing and enhanced durability

Ice accretion and corrosion severely affect the reliability and energy efficiency of thermal engineering systems in cold and harsh environments. To address these challenges, a durable photothermal superamphiphobic coating was fabricated via a facile one-step spray-coating strategy based on a γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550)-mediated organic–inorganic covalently bridged network. MWCNTs@TiO 2 composite particles were prepared by sol–gel deposition of TiO 2 on MWCNTs, providing hierarchical roughness, reactive sites, mechanical reinforcement, and efficient photothermal conversion. KH550 served as a molecular bridge among MWCNTs@TiO 2 , perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTES), and epoxy resin (EP), improving interfacial stability while reducing coating surface energy. The coating formulation was optimized using Box–Behnken response surface methodology and a desirability function based on the contact and sliding angles of water, glycerol, and ethylene glycol. The optimized coating showed contact angles of 162.9°, 161.1°, and 160.3° and sliding angles of 5.0°, 5.9°, and 8.7° for water, glycerol, and ethylene glycol, respectively, while maintaining stable repellency after various durability tests. Electrochemical tests demonstrated strong corrosion protection, with a corrosion inhibition efficiency of 99.81% and a protection efficiency of 93.2%. More importantly, the MWCNTs@TiO 2 -enabled photothermal effect allowed rapid solar-to-heat conversion, with the optimized coating reaching 68.2 °C after 300 s under 1 sun irradiation, whereas the raw SLS remained at only 24.9 °C. This photothermal heating, together with low liquid adhesion, prolonged the water freezing time from 39 to 351 s and enabled effective deicing under only 0.4 sun irradiation. These results indicate that the coating can mitigate icing through passive liquid repellency and active solar-driven heating, providing a scalable strategy for energy-efficient anti-icing/deicing, corrosion protection, and thermal protection in harsh environments.