Superhydrophobic coatings are reported as promising candidates for anti-icing applications. Various studies have shown that as well as having ultra water repellency the surfaces have reduced ice adhesion and can delay water freezing. However, the structure or texture (roughness) of the superhydrophobic surface is subject to degradation during the thermocycling or wetting process. This degradation can impair the superhydrophobicity and the icephobicity of those coatings. In this review, a brief overview of the process of droplet freezing on superhydrophobic coatings is presented with respect to their potential in anti-icing applications. To support this discussion, new data is presented about the condensation of water onto physically decorated substrates, and the associated freezing process which impacts on the freezing of macroscopic droplets on the surface.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.