Abstract: Photothermal superhydrophobic coatings hold great promise for anti/de-icing applications, but most of them strongly rely on their complex fabrication procedures and suffer from compositional and structural deterioration, consequently exhibiting inadequate adaptability across multifarious environmental conditions. Herein, we rationally designed a composition-interface synergistic reinforcement strategy to prepare a novel photothermal superhydrophobic coating (TiN-SHC) with versatile environmental robustness for ultralow-temperature anti/de-icing. The TiN-SHC can retain its superhydrophobicity after exposure to strongly corrosive media, long-term ultraviolet irradiation, cyclic thermal shocks, intense mechanical abrasion, and continuous mold incubation, and demonstrate consistently efficient and stable solar-thermal conversion performance under broad sunlight intensities. Moreover, owing to its specialized chemical composition, the TiN-SHC achieves high-level flame retardancy with a limited oxygen index of 41.7 % and a UL-94 rating of V-0. Leveraging the synergy between robust surface superhydrophobicity and potent solar-thermal conversion, the TiN-SHC exhibits enhanced icephobicity under 1 sun illumination even at -30 °C, which enables settled droplets to remain unfrozen in the Cassie-Baxter state and drives pre-frozen droplets to completely melt within mere minutes. Furthermore, the ice adhesion on TiN-SHC at -30 °C is measured to be as low as 10.78 kPa, which can facilitate effortless detachment of the ice cube. This work offers a viable route to develop advanced multifunctional coatings applicable in multiple harsh environments.

Key words: Photothermal conversion, Anti/de-icing, Superhydrophobicity, Environmental adaptability, Flame retardancy