Fabrication of Slippery Surfaces on Aluminum Alloy and Its Anti-Icing Performance in Glaze Ice

Abstract

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) have received growing attention as promising icephobic materials. In this study, SLIPS were prepared on aluminum alloys by combining anodization and infusion of common silicone oil. An SLIPS with low ice-adhesion strength (6 kPa) was obtained by optimizing the anodizing time parameters (10 min). In addition, the frosting process and freezing of water droplets on the as-prepared SLIPS at −10 °C were delayed for 2000 s and 4800 s, respectively. Simultaneously, the as-prepared SLIPS also exhibited excellent anti-icing performance in glaze ice, since the supercooled water drips/ice slipped from the surface. The ice weight of the as-prepared SLIPS was significantly lower than that of the bare aluminum surface and the anti-icing-fluid-coated aluminum surface, which was reduced by 38.2%–63.6% compared with the bare aluminum surface. The ice weight increased with decreased temperature and inclination angle. This work proposes a method suitable for large-area preparation of SLIPS that achieves excellent anti-icing performance and significantly reduces the weight of glaze ice.