A Silicone Resin Coating with Water-Repellency and Anti-Fouling Properties for Wood Protection

The strong hygroscopicity of wood greatly shortens its service life. Here, a simple impregnation modification approach was used to construct superhydrophobic silicone resin coatings on wood surfaces. Briefly, with hydrofluorosilicone oil (HFSO), tetramethyl tetravinyl cyclotetrasiloxane (V-4), and hydrophobic SiO2 from industrial production as raw materials, superhydrophobic wood samples (water contact angle similar to 160.8 degrees, sliding angle similar to 3.6 degrees) can be obtained by simply dipping the wood in the HFSO/V-4/SiO2 modifier solutions. As a result, the superhydrophobic silicone resin coating constructed on the wood surface still has good water repellency after finger touching, tape peeling, and sandpaper abrasion. When the mass ratio of HFSO to V-4 is 2:1, the water absorption of the resulting wood after soaking in water for 24 h is only 29.2%. Further, the resulting superhydrophobic wood shows excellent anti-fouling properties. Finally, we believe that the impregnation modification method proposed in this study can be applied to the protection of cellulose substrates.