Ice Adhesion Strength Research Articles

Robust Superhydrophobic Surfaces via the Sand-In Method.

Superhydrophobic surfaces have gained sustained attention because of their extensive applications in the fields of self-cleaning, anti-icing, and drag reduction systems. Water droplets must have large apparent contact angle (CA) (>150°) and small CA hysteresis (<10°) on these surfaces. However, previous research usually involves complex fabrication strategies to modify the surface wettability. It is also challenging to maintain the temporal and mechanical stability of the delicate surface textures. Here, we develop a one-step solvent-free sand-in method to fabricate robust superhydrophobic surfaces directly atop various substrates with an apparent CA up to ∼163.8° and hysteresis less than 5°. The water repellency can withstand 100 Scotch tape peeling tests and remain stable after being stored under ambient humid conditions in Houston, Texas, for 18 months or being heated at 130 °C in air for 24 h. The superhydrophobic surfaces have excellent anti-icing ability, including a ∼2.6× longer water freezing time and ∼40% smaller ice adhesion strength with the temperature as low as -35 °C. Since the surface layers are fabricated by sanding the substrates with the powder additives, the surface damage can be repaired by a direct re-sanding treatment with the same powder additives. Further sand-in condition screenings broaden surface wettability from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic. The sand-in method induces the surface modification and the formation of the tribofilm. Surface and materials characterizations reveal that both microstructures and nanoscale asperities of the tribofilms contribute to the robust superhydrophobic features of sanded surfaces.

Durable Metallic Surfaces Capable of Passive and Active De‐Icing

Ice accretion has adverse effects on several industrial sectors worldwide. Sparsely suspended, thin metallic sheets (buckling elastomer‐like anti‐icing metallic surfaces, or BEAMS) recently demonstrated extremely low ice adhesion strengths while maintaining durability. Here, BEAMS are designed using elastomeric suspension points shaped as channels, enabling active de‐icing by flowing air underneath the suspended sheet. The channel geometry is optimized using computational fluid dynamics by iterating through various channel dimensions and flow conditions. An experimental setup is constructed and utilized to assess BEAMS comprised of 1–4 channels. Active de‐icing is achieved by pressurizing the air within the channels to bulge the sheet outward and delaminate accreted ice from the interface. Active de‐icing is achieved by flowing room temperature air through the channels to heat the surface and melt the interface. Passive de‐icing is also observed under atmospheric icing conditions. Rime is accreted within an icing wind tunnel on multichannel BEAMS. Ice adhesion strengths &lt;8 kPa are maintained after ten consecutive icing/de‐icing runs, demonstrating substantial durability. The active and passive de‐icing capability of channeled BEAMS makes it a promising candidate for improving the operational efficiency of infrastructure in cold environments.

Superhydrophobic and photothermal deicing composite coating with self-healing and anti-corrosion for anti-icing applications

The phenomenon of surface ice accumulation in low temperature and high humidity environments brings significant challenges to economy, energy, and security. Superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-nano structures are considered as effective anti-icing surfaces. However, deicing can damage the micro-nano structures and increase the ice adhesion strength. Herein, a low-adhesion, superhydrophobic photothermal response coating was introduced by combining micro-nano surface and lubricated surface, which exhibits low adhesion self-healing photothermal de-icing performance. The surface temperature rises rapidly to 85 °C under 1 solar irradiation and the frozen droplet can melt within 150 s. The prepared coating has a contact angle of up to 162° and a rolling angle as low as 4.8°. The superhydrophobicity enabled the coating to have excellent anti-icing property with icing delay times up to 596 s. Ice and frost layers on the coating surface can melt and fall off illuminating with light. In addition, beeswax as phase change materials contributes to the coating's efficient self-healing properties. The coating can restore its excellent superhydrophobicity and surface morphology quickly via a simple heat treatment after suffering chemical and mechanical damage. The coating design strategy will provide inspiration for natural solar photothermal anti-icing surfaces and engineering applications.

Cauliflower-like micro-nano structured superhydrophobic surfaces for durable anti-icing and photothermal de-icing

Ice formation and accretion have a severe negative impact, thus creating the tremendous demand for anti-icing/deicing surfaces. Compared with other techniques, superhydrophobic surfaces possess unique advantages including extremely low affinity to water droplets and reduced ice adhesion strength, whereas their weak durability and failure in cold and moist environments restrict their practical applications. Therefore, photothermal superhydrophobic surfaces possessing high light absorptivity have been proposed, by which ice can be removed by harvesting solar energy as heat eco-friendly and efficiently. However, practical photothermal superhydrophobic surfaces with superior photothermal capability, anti-icing/deicing performance and high durability remain scarce. In this study, a durable cauliflower-like micro-nano structured superhydrophobic surface was produced by combining the ultrafast laser ablation and wet chemical reactions. The hierarchical structures, composed of microcones arrays, in-situ grown cauliflower-like structure and closely bonded PDMS layer, exhibited not only a high absorption rate of 97.3%, but also the high durability in both experimental and natural environment. The temperature raised 48.5 °C under 1 sun illumination for 300 s in ambient conditions. The surface still kept superhydrophobic after several durability tests. The photothermal effect dramatically reduced the ice adhesion strength and deteriorations on the surface during its operation. Under the light intensity of 1 sun for 1 min each cycle, the ice adhesion strength maintained around 10 kPa stably over 40 icing-deicing cycles and the ice layer was melted under 2 min irradiation. Besides, in a three-month long outdoor experiment, the proposed superhydrophobic surface remained its efficient photothermal conversion capacity as well as high durability. Therefore, the cauliflower-like micro-nano structured superhydrophobic surface is one of the most promising methods for anti-icing/deicing applications due to the advantages of superior photothermal capability, long-term durability and adaptability.

Fabrication of liquid-infused textured surfaces (LITS): The effect of surface textures on anti-icing properties and durability

Icephobic surfaces offer an effective solution to protect the infrastructures subjected to harsh cold-weather environment and increase their efficiency. Inspired by the Nepenthes pitcher plant, liquid-infused coatings have received much interest as a potential cost-effective anti-icing solution. In this paper, we developed liquid-infused textured surfaces (LITS) through chemical etching followed by a replication method. We assessed the effect of viscosity (50 and 500 cSt) and the infusion percentages of lubricant on the morphology and icephobicity of the produced surfaces. Lubricant-infused silicone surfaces are normally obtained by combining a textured surface morphology and slipperiness. We therefore evaluated the wettability, morphology, and the localized surface elasticity maps of the fabricated surfaces using a goniometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The icephobic performance of the samples was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), push-off tests, and freezing delay time measurements. Our observations of the anti-icing nature of the produced LITS confirmed that the heat insulation effect of the lubricant lowered the ice nucleation temperature considerably compared with non-oil surfaces. The prepared LITS presented an ice adhesion strength of less than 20 kPa, four orders of magnitude lower than that of a pristine surface. Surficial microtextures are critical for reducing the rate of oil depletion through the trapping of oil within the surface microstructures. Our designed lubricant-infused surfaces present more durable and stable anti-icing characteristics over the long term than smooth lubricant-infused surfaces.

General mechanism and mitigation for strong adhesion of frozen oil sands on solid substrates

Oil sands adhered on truck bed reduce transport capacity of the truck, require manual cleaning, and create hurdles for automated surface mining. Study on the adhesion properties of oil sands to solid substrates is important to minimize the fouling of substrates during mining operation. In this work, we study the influence of hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the substrates on the adhesion strength of frozen oil sands. By using an adhesion force apparatus with temperature control, we measure the adhesion strength of both ice and frozen oil sands on six types of substrates with water contact angle from ∼20° to ∼130° and Young’s modulus from a few MPa to 300 GPa. A clear linear correlation between the adhesion strength of pure ice and that of frozen oil sands is observed. Furthermore, the adhesion strength increases with the load on the oil sands sample, and reaches a plateau at ∼450 kPa. The maximum adhesion strength may be due to the limit of particle packing of oil sands. We also demonstrate that spray coating of anti-freezing liquids is effective for the mitigation of the adhesion of frozen oil sands. Substrates coated with various anti-freezing liquids showed undetectable oil sands adhesion strength at -20 °C with 0.06 MPa of load. The study on oil sands adhesion and potential fouling mitigation method may provide a potential solution to industries looking to reduce fouling of surfaces by frozen granular matter.

Effect of curvature on durable ice-phobic surfaces based on buckling metallic plates

Degradation in system performance due to ice accretion on curved surfaces remains a decades-old challenge. We recently reported that Buckling Elastomer-like Anti-icing Metallic Surfaces (BEAMS) exhibit a low ice adhesion strength and extreme durability in realistic icing conditions. BEAMS consist of thin, flat metal sheets suspended on strips or dots of adhesive, and this partial confinement facilitates buckling of the metal sheet, causing ice to dislodge from the surface at a low applied force. The mechanism of ice detachment from curved BEAMS has not been investigated. Here we study how curvature affects the shear ice adhesion strength of BEAMS, using both glaze- and rime-type ice at −20 °C. For glaze, it was observed that increasing the radius of curvature increased the ice adhesion strength regardless of whether the curvature was positive or negative. For rime ice a high radius of curvature, R = 17.3 mm, was used inside an icing wind tunnel. When the compliance of the material used to suspend the metallic sheet was increased, the rime ice adhesion strength was as low as τice≈3 kPa. Further, the confinement configuration of BEAMS was studied to understand its effect on lateral torsional buckling. Lateral torsional buckling altered the radius of curvature of both the suspension material and metal sheet, initiating cracks due to the unchanged curvature of the accreted ice. Accordingly, the extremely low ice adhesion strength of BEAMS, even on curved surfaces, was due to buckling instabilities either within the thin metal plates or the suspension material. Overall, BEAMS would appear to be a durable, low-ice-adhesion candidate material even for complex and curved surface geometries such as the leading edges of aircraft wings, wind turbine blades, or power transmission lines.

The effect of superhydrophobic coating composition on the topography and ice adhesion

Ice accumulation on solid surfaces adversely affects many applications. Among diverse surface modification methods to reduce ice adhesion strength, superhydrophobic (SHP) surfaces have been considered due to their non-wetting characteristics, which minimize the solid-liquid interface, reducing the actual solid-ice contact area. In this work, the shear adhesion strength required for ice removal was studied for a series of thermoplastic-based SHP coatings with a wide particle content range. It was found that particle content plays a complex role in the shear adhesion strength of the coating, which changes the locus of failure for ice removal. The presence of cracks at higher particle loading (above 40 wt%) significantly changed the behavior of the coating, increasing the shear stress for removal. This was attributed to the ice anchoring effect caused by crack formation and penetration of the freezing water into the cracks. To minimize the ice-SHP coating interface shear adhesion, crack formation should be eliminated incorporating the lowest possible NPs content, preserving the Cassie-Baxter wettability state. In the case of the PU nanocomposite coating, 35 and 40 wt% silica NPs coatings demonstrate the optimal result with very low ice adhesion. As crack formation is a common phenomenon in high content NPs nanocomposite coatings, the composition of nanocomposite coatings should be optimized for each material system to minimized crack presence with appropriate surface energetics.

PDMS and POSS-dangling zwitterionic polyurethane coatings with enhanced anti-icing performance

Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA)-based zwitterionic polyurethane (ZPU), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-dangling ZPU (PDMS-D + ZPU) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-dangling ZPU (POSS-D + ZPU) were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization, quaternization reaction and crosslinking reaction to establish a superior anti-icing formulation. Obtained ZPU, PDMS-D + ZPU and POSS-D + ZPU coatings in contact with water all could support a self-lubricating water layer by the strong surface hydration and enrichment of zwitterionic PSBMA segments. In contrast, the PDMS-D + ZPU coating held the lowest amount of bound water due to the surface coverage of low-surface-tension PDMS chains, resulting in the lowest ice propagation rate. The POSS-D + ZPU coating held the highest amount of bound water because the aggregation of hard POSS particles on the surface induced more hydrophilic channels to enhance hydration of PSBMA. The hard POSS particles also served as a crystal nucleus to accelerate ice formation on the surface of POSS-D + ZPU coating. However, hydrophobic POSS allowed the POSS-D + ZPU coating to exhibit a lower ice propagation rate than ZPU coating. Additionally, both PDMS-D + ZPU and POSS-D + ZPU coatings were found to maintain low ice adhesion strength after multiple icing/de-icing cycles due to the synergism among the crosslinked structure, self-lubricating water layer and hydrophobic units.

Mechanical Durability of Low Ice Adhesion Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces.

Elastomeric surfaces and oil-infused elastic surfaces reveal low ice adhesion, in part because of their deformability. However, these soft surfaces might jeopardize their mechanical durability. In this work, we analyzed the mechanical durability of elastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces with different balances between elasticity and deicing performances. The durability was studied in terms of shear/tensile ice adhesion strength before and after different wear tests. These tests consisted of abrasion/erosion cycles using standard procedures aimed to reproduce different environmental wearing agents. The main objective is to evaluate if our PDMS surfaces can become long-lasting solutions for ice removal in real conditions. We found that our elastic surfaces show excellent durability. After the wear tests, the ice adhesion strength values remained low or even unaltered. Although the oil-infused PDMS surface was the softest one, it presented considerable durability and excellent low ice adhesion, being a promising solution.

Effective Icephobicity of Silicone Oil-Infused Oleamide-Polydimethylsiloxane with Enhanced Lubrication Lifetime.

Icing and freezing phenomena in cold weather cause serious damage and economic losses. Thus, the development of a new effective icephobic surface with low ice adhesion strength (τice) that can easily remove ice by wind or gravity force is essentially required. In this study, we propose a silicone oil-infused oleamide–polydimethylsiloxane (SiOP) by a facile fabrication method to achieve the effective icephobic performance with enhanced lubrication lifetime. The proposed SiOP is composed of a composite containing oleamide and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silicone oil impregnated into the polymeric networks of the composite. Oleamide has been used as a slip agent in industries to reduce the skin friction of polymer films. The weight of the oil impregnated in SiOP is approximately three times higher than that of silicone oil-infused PDMS (SiPDMS). Different from the SiPDMS surface on which oil dries easily, a slippery oil layer is stably formed on the SiOP surface. The fabricated SiOP surfaces have very low τice values of approximately 1 kPa, which is much smaller than that of the SiPDMS surface. The SiOP with an oleamide content of 5 wt % exhibits the smallest τice value of 0.88 kPa. The fabricated SiOP surfaces maintain their superior icephobicity for more than 30 icing/deicing cycles, demonstrating their enhanced lubrication lifetime. In addition, the ice freezing time of a water droplet of 7 μL in volume is significantly delayed on the SiOP surface compared with that on the SiPDMS surface. The present results demonstrate that the proposed SiOP surface can help provide superior icephobic performance with the aid of the incorporation of oleamide into the conventional SiPDMS. The developed icephobic SiOP can be utilized to satisfactorily resolve the lubricant drought problem of conventional icephobic surfaces by empolying oleamide as a complementary slip agent.

Multi-applicable, durable superhydrophobic anti-icing coating through template-method and chemical vapor deposition

In this study, a superhydrophobic and anti-icing coating (F-SiO2 coating) for metal surfaces was fabricated through a template method and chemical vapor deposition. The coated surface exhibits excellent repellency to water and ice at a low temperature of -10 °C with a relative humidity of about 85% in a chamber. The F-SiO2 coated surface also presents good anti-icing and deicing performances in both dynamic and static tests. The coating shows an extremely low ice adhesion strength of approximately 14.8 kPa which was reduced by 90% in comparison with the bare surface. In addition, the coated surface shows good stability in friction and chemical resistance tests and retains anti-icing properties after 150 times of icing/deicing cycles. These results indicate that the proposed F-SiO2 coating is a promising candidate for developing practical and durable anti-icing materials for a wide range of applications.

Novel Intrinsic Self‐Healing Poly‐Silicone‐Urea with Super‐Low Ice Adhesion Strength (Small 22/2022)

De-Icing Technologies Achieving self-healing anti-icing with low ice bonding force is quite attractive but is still a challenge. In article number 2200532, Yijun Shi and co-workers develop an anti-ice material, which shows an obviously higher self-healing capability and the lowest ice adhesion strength (7 ± 1 kPa) compared with all known ice phobic materials, which can maintain well after healing.

An abrasion-resistant, photothermal, superhydrophobic anti-icing coating prepared by polysiloxane-modified carbon nanotubes and fluorine-silicone resin

Hydrophobic modification of carbon nanotubes was performed using poly(methyl-3,3,3-trifluoropropyl siloxane) (PMTFPS). Then a superhydrophobic anti-icing coating with photothermal effect was successfully prepared by using fluorine-silicone resin as a binder and building a micro-nano structure using hydrophobic carbon nanotubes. The coating has good hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 160.8° and a sliding angle of 2°. The performance of the coating was also evaluated by sandpaper abrasion test, complete freezing time, ice adhesion strength, and infrared irradiation. The coating maintained good hydrophobicity even after 100 cycles of abrasion or after being immersed for 12 h in solutions with different conditions. The good abrasion resistance and chemical durability of the coating in aqueous solutions were demonstrated. The complete freezing time of 10 µl water droplet on the coating surface was prolonged by 11.6 times at − 15 °C. The ice adhesion strength of the coating was only 33.3 kPa, which was 92.1% lower than that of the tinplate. After 50 de-icing cycles, the ice adhesion strength on the coating was still relatively stable. The coating had significant photothermal properties, with the temperature rising 14.3 °C after 1 min irradiation by a 150 W infrared light.

Hydrophobically/oleophilically guarded powder metallurgical structures and liquid impregnation for ice mitigation

Icing hazards often pose operational and safety challenges. Various surface and coating approaches have been attempted for ice mitigation purposes, but the durability remains an outstanding issue. Inspired by traditional powder metallurgy and slippery icephobic surfaces, a new strategy for slippery liquid-impregnated porous metallic structure (LIPMS) with gradient porosity was proposed in this study for ice mitigation, by directly impregnating selected liquids into sintered porous copper components with hydrophobic/oleophilic guarding consideration. The results indicated that robust LIPMS with desired porosity were obtained, significantly delaying the icing of surface water droplets, providing good frost resistance in a high humid environment, and demonstrating ultra-low ice adhesion strength (less than 1 kPa). It was confirmed that the hydrophobic/oleophilic guarding design significantly improved icephobic durability, attributing to its role in repelling external water and maintaining internal slippery liquid. To offer a comprehensive understanding of icephobic mechanisms and the potentials of LIPMSs, a concept of ice initiation position was also proposed and theoretically discussed. The pivotal factor of icephobic LIPMS is to maintain the icing initiation position at the unfrozen liquid–liquid interface or inside the homogeneous liquid, thus inhibiting icing and facilitating the ice removal.

Slippery surface with honeycomb structures for enhancing chemical durability of aluminum

Aluminum (Al) and its alloys have been widely used in aviation, shipbuilding, automobile industry and other fields due to their excellent properties. However, the inherent hydrophilicity of Al and its alloys makes them vulnerable to contamination, corrosion, and even damage in harsh environments, which seriously restrains their further applications. To address the above problems, this paper reports a simple, efficient, and non-fluorinated method to prepare a slippery lubricant-infused porous surface (SLIPS). Firstly, the Al substrate was cyclically chemical etched to construct honeycomb-like porous structures. After 1-Octadecanethiol modification and silicone oil injection, the SLIPS was obtained with a water sliding angle (SA) of 3°, and various liquids like water, mud water, ink, juice, milk, 3.5 wt% NaCl, HCl, and NaOH could slide off the SLIPS at an tilted angle of 20°. Then, the prepared SLIPS was subjected to extreme tests such as silicone oil shear stability, repeated tape sticking, and natural environment corrosion, and the SLIPS after these tests still exhibited a SA of 20°. In addition, compared with original Al surface, the SLIPS had longer icing-delaying time and lower ice adhesion strength, showing better anti-icing performance. Finally, polarization curves, Nyquist curves, and equivalent circuit of different surfaces were collected and analyzed, and the results indicated that the SLIPS possessed much better corrosion resistance than the original Al surface. The SLIPS with these superb properties is expected to bring new avenues for marine industrial applications.

Micro-Nano-Nanowire Triple Structure-Held PDMS Superhydrophobic Surfaces for Robust Ultra-Long-Term Icephobic Performance.

Anti-icing superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted tremendous interests due to their repellency to water and extremely low ice affinity, whereas the weak durability has been the bottleneck for further applications. Surface durability is especially important in long-term exposure to low-temperature and high-humidity environments. In this study, a robust micro-nano-nanowire triple structure-held PDMS superhydrophobic surface was fabricated via a hybrid process: ultrafast-laser-prepared periodic copper microstructures were chemically oxidized, followed by modification of PDMS. The hedgehog-like surface structure was composed of microcones, densely grown nanowires, and tightly combined PDMS. The capillary force difference in micro-nanostructures drove PDMS solutions to distribute evenly, bonding fragile nanowires to form stronger composite cones. PDMS replaced the commonly used fragile fluorosilanes and protected nanowires from breaking, which endowed the surfaces with higher robustness. The ductile PDMS-nanowire composites possessed higher resiliency than brittle nanowires under a load of 1 mN. The surface kept superhydrophobic and ice-resistant after 15 linear abrasion cycles under 1.2 kPa or 60 icing-deicing cycles under -20 °C or 500 tape peeling cycles. Under a higher pressure of 6.2 kPa, the contact angle (CA) was maintained above 150° until the abrasion distance exceeded 8 m. In addition, the surface exhibited a rare spontaneously optimized performance in the icing-deicing cycles. The ice adhesion strength of the surface reached its lowest value of 12.2 kPa in the 16th cycle. Evolution of surface roughness and morphology were combined to explain its unique U-shaped performance curves, which distinguished its unique degradation process from common surfaces. Thus, this triple-scale superhydrophobic surface showed a long-term anti-icing performance with high deicing robustness and low ice adhesion strength. The proposed nanostructure-facilitated uniform distribution strategy of PDMS is promising in future design of durable superhydrophobic anti-icing surfaces.

Electro‐/Photo‐Thermal Promoted Anti‐Icing Materials: A New Strategy Combined with Passive Anti‐Icing and Active De‐Icing

AbstractIce accretion on exposed surfaces is unavoidable as time elapses and temperature lowers sufficiently in nature, causing detrimental impacts on the normal performance of devices and facilities. To mitigate icing problems, both active de‐icing and passive anti‐icing materials (AIM) have been utilized. Traditional active anti‐icing methods suffer from energy consumption, low efficiency and high cost, while passive AIM meet the challenges of improving mechanical durability and maintaining low ice adhesion strength during icing/de‐icing cycles. Recently, new AIM are rationally designed by the combination of passive anti‐icing and active de‐icing, exhibiting efficient, reliable and energy‐saving properties. The conceptual idea is that passive AIM only need to reach a certain value of ice adhesion strength (i.e., τice&lt;100 kPa) instead of achieving lowest ice adhesion strength, and simultaneously combine with active de‐icing techniques (i.e., electro‐thermal and photo‐thermal stimulus) to realize ideal all‐weather anti‐icing/de‐icing. In this review paper, the authors provide a brief introduction to passive AIM, and mainly focus on recent advances in the electro‐/photo‐thermal promoted AIM in terms of anti‐icing/de‐icing mechanisms, challenges and perspectives. The new conceptual anti‐icing/de‐icing strategy will inspire the rational design of the state‐of‐the‐art AIM in future and provides practical solutions to mitigate outdoor anti‐icing/de‐icing problems in daily lives.

Fabrication of a durable anti-icing composite coating based on polyurethane elastomer and silica nanoparticles

In order to design and fabricate hydrophobic, durable and anti-icing coating for aircraft, a polyurethane elastomer matrix was hydrophobically modified and incorporated with fluorinated SiO2 nanoparticles to prepare a micro/nanostructured coating. The micro/nanostructured coating with low surface energy displayed significantly improved mechanical properties and hydrophobicity, which exhibited the water contact angle of 162° as well as the sliding angle of 2°. The coating is highly stretchable, which could sustain large-scale extension, and exhibits tensile strength and elongation at break up to 16.22 MPa and 385%, respectively. Furthermore, the coating exhibited a remarkably weak ice adhesion strength of 14.33 kPa, on which the accumulative ice is prone to fall off under natural wind and its own weight. The coating sustained long-term superhydrophobic properties and anti-icing performance even after 1000 abrasion cycles. The proposed method for the production of scalable superhydrophobic coating is cost-effective and can be applied in aerospace and automotive anti-icing systems.

Scalable high-efficiency multilayered anti-icing/de-icing coating: Superhydrophobic upper layer boosts the performance of the electrothermal system

The formation and accumulation of ice can easily cause serious safety issues and damage. The superhydrophobic surface can delay ice formation due to its liquid repellence feature, but does not work very well under super cold temperatures. The electrothermal coating can effectively prevent ice formation, while it is very energy-consuming. In this work, a multilayered system that combined electrothermal layer (ET) with energy-saving superhydrophobic layer (SH) (SH@ET system) was fabricated to improve the energy efficiency of anti-icing/de-icing coatings. A programmable automatic spraying machine was used to prepare the graphene nanoplates (GNP)-based electrothermal coating with controllable electrical resistance and excellent electrothermal performance. After spraying the SH layer, the SH@ET coating showed excellent water repellency, superior anti-icing performance, and extremely low ice adhesion strength (15 kPa). During the anti-icing test, there was no ice accumulation on the surface of assembled SH@ET system even under low power (0.5 W) at −19 °C for 20 min, confirming its practical application prospects. The SH@ET system also exhibited superior deicing performance than the ET coating. An obvious difference appeared at the low applied voltage range, under which ice continuously formed on the surface of ET coating, while no ice formed on the SH layer. The results can be ascribed to the better water repellency and low ice adhesion strength of the SH layer. This work provides a feasible approach for designing multilayer anti-/de-icing systems for practical large-area applications.