Facile Fabrication of Bulk Superhydrophobic Polymer/Halloysite Nanotubes Composite Coating With Abrasion Resistance
Superhydrophobic coatings are often limited in practical applications due to the fragile micro/nanostructures and poor mechanical resistance. Herein, a facile one‐pot synthesis strategy was proposed to fabricate an organic–inorganic composite coating with a three‐dimensional interconnected cross‐linked network through in situ photopolymerization of vinyltriethoxysilane (ETS) and its dehydration condensation reaction with natural halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). When the HNT loading reached 25 wt% of ETS, the as‐prepared coating exhibited uniform superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of ~150°. More importantly, owing to its consistent structure and chemical composition throughout the surface and bulk, the coating retained excellent hydrophobic stability even after severe mechanical abrasion. Beyond its simplicity and avoidance of organic solvents or fluorinated reagents, this strategy provides an effective way to prepare durable superhydrophobic coatings, which hold significant potential for many practical applications such as waterproofing and self‐cleaning.