Fabrication and anti-icing property of superhydrophobic coatings on insulator

Abstract

Surface icing of transmission lines may inflict serious consequences such as tower collapse and power failure. Superhydrophobic (SHP) surface is believed to be potential candidate to realize anti-icing. Here we reported a method to fabricate SHP surface on insulator to enhance its anti-icing performance. The as-prepared SHP surface exhibits a contact angle (CA) of 161° and sliding angle (SA) of 1°. The anti-icing behavior of the as-prepared SHP surface was investigated by an artificial climate chamber. Results showed the as-prepared SHP surface can effectively mitigate the freezing process and reduce ice accumulation. Only isolated ice points formed on the SHP surface. Due to the micro/nano binary structures of the SHP surface, a large amount of air was trapped in the textures, which contributed to the superhydrophobicity. This method is easy to handle and doesn't need any special facility which may have potential future applications in transmission lines against ice accumulation.