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Superhydrophobic coatings can be a suitable solution for protecting vulnerable electrical infrastructures in regions with severe meteorological conditions. Regenerative superhydrophobicity, the ability to regain superhydrophobicity after being compromised or degraded, could address the issue of the low durability of these coatings. In this study, we fabricated a superhydrophobic coating comprising hydrophobic aerogel microparticles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-modified silica nanoparticles within a PDMS matrix containing trifluoropropyl POSS (F-POSS) and XIAMETER PMX-series silicone oil as superhydrophobicity-regenerating agents. The fabricated coating exhibited a static contact angle of 169.5° and a contact angle hysteresis of 6°. This coating was capable of regaining its superhydrophobicity after various pH immersion and plasma deterioration tests. The developed coating demonstrated ice adhesion as low as 71.2 kPa, which remained relatively unchanged even after several icing/de-icing cycles. Furthermore, the coating exhibited a higher flashover voltage than the reference samples and maintained a minimal drop in flashover voltage after consecutive testing cycles. Given this performance, this developed coating can be an ideal choice for enhancing the lifespan of electrical insulators.

Electrical power systems, and more specifically electrical insulators are vulnerable to losing their functionality in severe meteorological conditions. Accumulation of ice or pollution can harm the electrical insulators. A layer of pollution can lead to accumulation of a conductive layer on top of the insulator. The contaminated high-voltage insulator in wet conditions could lead into a leakage current which flows through the surface of the insulator. This layer of conductive material on the insulator can lead to flashover which could result in the breakdown of the insulator. Therefore, anti-icing and self-cleaning coatings could be of great interest for electrical insulators. Superhydrophobic coatings have the potential to be used for anti-icing and self-cleaning properties. A lot of researchers have been focused on superhydrophobicity, yet most of the research carried out in this domain lack durability studies and the developed coatings have small life spans under harsh environmental conditions. Regenerative superhydrophobic coatings could solve this problem. These coatings will regain their superhydrophobicity after being ruptured or degraded. This research aims to fabricate silicone-based regenerative superhydrophobic coatings and study their durability and consequently their potential applications in electrical insulators. With that said, a superhydrophobic coating containing hydrophobic aerogel microparticles and polydimethylsiloxane modified silica nanoparticles within a PDMS based matrix containing Trifluoropropyl POSS (F-POSS) and Xiamater PMX-series silicone oil as superhydrophobicity regenerating agents were fabricated by spin-coating method. The fabricated coating showed a contact angle of 169.5° and a contact angle hysteresis of 6°. The self-cleaning ability of the developed coating was attested and studied by dry contamination test. The superhydrophobicity regeneration of the developed coating was also put at the test by plasma deterioration and variou