An all-weather anti/de-icing coating combining superhydrophobic surfaces with photothermal and electrothermal functions

Abstract

To reduce the hazard of ice adhesion, a superhydrophobic coating with a contact angle of 150.4°, a sliding angle of 2°, and high light absorption performance was applied to the aluminum surface in the present study. The phase transition time of water on the superhydrophobic photothermal coating surface was delayed by 82.70 s compared to the freezing time of water on the aluminum alloy surface at −5 °C. Under the same light intensity, the melting time of the accumulated ice on the GPSC surface was 445.60 s; however, the melting of the covered ice on the aluminum alloy surface did not occur. The energy consumption required to melt the accreted ice on the GPSC surface using electric heat was 55.63% lower than that for melting ice on the aluminum alloy surface. The contact angle of the GPSC surface was measured at 143.6° after being impacted by 4 kg of quartz sand. Coating the material surface with GPSC could enhance the passive anti-icing performance of the material. When combined with a low-power electric heating method to melt the ice on the surface, this would create an all-weather anti/de-icing strategy that merges both active and passive approaches to remove ice from component surfaces. Additionally, the interface strain could change suddenly during the freezing process of water on different material surfaces at varying temperatures. This research could support ice monitoring techniques in the engineering field as well as assist in determining the optimal starting time for anti/de-icing methods.