Fabrication of a silane-modified superhydrophobic TiO₂–PVDF–FEP coating with scale inhibition performance

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) whiskers modified with octadecyltrimethoxysilane were incorporated into the coating solution through a solution blending method. The superhydrophobic coating was designed and fabricated using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyperfluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) as the main constituents, while silane-modified TiO₂ whiskers as the fillers. The results demonstrated that after a 360-h scaling test, the mass of CaCO₃ on the surface of the resulted silane-modified superhydrophobic TiO₂–PVDF–FEP coating was only 1.90 mg·cm⁻², decreased by 37.1% and 16.7% compared with those on the PVDF–FEP coating and the TiO₂–PVDF–FEP coating, respectively. The synergistic effects of the air film, silane-modified TiO₂ whiskers, and superhydrophobicity ensure that this superhydrophobic TiO₂–PVDF–FEP coating has excellent scale inhibition performance. This study presents a novel approach for advancing the development of superhydrophobic coatings, offering promising prospects for industrial-scale applications in preventive measures.