Styrene-butyl acrylate copolymers latexes prepared with different functional monomers and their application as anti-icing coatings

Four polymer latexes, including Base latex synthesized using styrene and butyl acrylate as the main monomers, Latex Si prepared with 4.0 wt% of vinyl triethoxysilane, Latex F with 4.0 wt% of dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate and Latex D₄ with 8.5 wt% of octamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane (D₄), were prepared through a semi-continuous emulsion polymerization. Characterization of the latex films revealed that water absorption of the films of Latex D₄ and the Base latex were lower than those of Latexes F and Si; whereas their contact angle with water were also smaller than those of the other two latex films. The latexes were applied as coating onto steel and Al metals of different forms to evaluate their performance in corrosion and anti-icing tests. Coated on steel plates for water resistance test, it was found that Latex D₄ and Base latex showed poorer performance; whereas the films made from Latex F and Latex Si showed better performance. In anti-icing tests, with the coating applied either on Al circular helix coils followed by refrigeration after water spray, or on Al stranded power line followed by anti-icing test in an IWT (ice wind tunnel), Latex D₄ showed the best anti-icing performance, Base latex with the lowest performance, and the other two, Latex F and Latex Si, located in between. The test in IWT was also conducted with the latexes coated on stainless steel rods used in Al stranded power line with reinforced steel core. The anti-icing effectiveness was quite similar to those observed on Al coils or stranded power transmission lines: Latex D₄ showed the highest performance and Base latex the lowest, although the differences of the magnitude in their performance were obviously different in different tests.