Self-Cleaning and Anti-Fouling Coatings

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactive Coatings and Biointerfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2026 | Viewed by 370

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Interests: micro/nano fabrication; functional surfaces and interfaces; anti-icing; droplet-based microfluidics

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Guest Editor
School of Safety Engineering, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China
Interests: surface engineering; coatings; aircraft icing; droplet; corrosion and tribology; superhydrophobic

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Self-cleaning and anti-fouling coatings have emerged as transformative solutions to address challenges in diverse fields, including energy systems, biomedical devices, marine infrastructure, and architectural surfaces. These advanced materials minimize contamination, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance durability by leveraging innovative mechanisms such as superhydrophobicity, photocatalytic degradation, and antimicrobial activity. This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research, technological advancements, and the practical applications of these coatings, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches bringing together material science, chemistry, and engineering.

We invite contributions that explore novel material designs, scalable fabrication techniques, and performance evaluation methodologies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Material Innovations‌: The development of nanocomposites, bio-inspired surfaces, and stimuli-responsive coatings.

Surface Engineering‌: Strategies for enhancing durability, adhesion, and environmental resistance.

Functional Mechanisms‌: Studies on superhydrophobic surfaces, photocatalytic self-cleaning (e.g., TiO₂-based systems), and antifouling agents (e.g., zwitterionic polymers).

Application-Specific Solutions‌: Coatings for solar panels, medical implants, marine vessels, and building facades.

Sustainability‌: Eco-friendly formulations, lifecycle analysis, and recycling coating materials.

Testing and Characterization: Advanced methods for assessing mechanical robustness, chemical stability, and long-term performance.

Both fundamental studies and applied research are welcome, including experimental, computational, and industrial case studies. This issue seeks to foster collaboration between researchers and industries to accelerate the translation of laboratory breakthroughs into real-world applications.

Dr. Liming Liu
Dr. Wei Tong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coatings
  • self-cleaning
  • anti-fouling
  • micro-nanostructures
  • durability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

10 pages, 4047 KiB  
Article
Super-Hydrophobic Photothermal Copper Foam for Multi-Scenario Solar Desalination: Integrating Anti-Icing, Self-Cleaning, and Mechanical Durability
by Chen Shao, Guojian Yang, Kang Yuan and Liming Liu
Coatings 2025, 15(5), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15050578 - 13 May 2025
Viewed by 232
Abstract
Solar desalination is widely regarded as an effective way to solve freshwater scarcity. However, the balance between the costs of micro-nanostructures, thermal regulation, and the durability of interface evaporators must all be considered. In this study, a super-hydrophobic copper foam with hierarchical micro-nanostructures [...] Read more.
Solar desalination is widely regarded as an effective way to solve freshwater scarcity. However, the balance between the costs of micro-nanostructures, thermal regulation, and the durability of interface evaporators must all be considered. In this study, a super-hydrophobic copper foam with hierarchical micro-nanostructures exhibited temperatures greater than 66 °C under solar illumination of 1 kW·m−2. Significantly, the modified copper foam acting as a solar interface evaporator had a water harvesting efficiency of 1.76 kg·m−2·h−1, resulting from its good photothermal conversion and porous skeleton. Further, the anti-deicing, self-cleaning, and anti-abrasion tests were carried out to demonstrate its durability. The whole fabrication of the as-prepared CF was only involved in mechanical extrusion and spray-coating, which is suitable for large-scale production. This work endows the interface evaporator with super-hydrophobicity, photo-thermal conversion, anti-icing, and mechanical stability, all of which are highly demanded in multi-scenario solar desalination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Cleaning and Anti-Fouling Coatings)
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