A Simple Approach for Flexible and Stretchable Anti-icing Lubricant-Infused Tape

Abstract

Unwanted icing has major safety and economic repercussions on human activities, affecting means of transportation, infrastructures, and consumer goods. Compared to the common deicing methods in use today, intrinsically icephobic surfaces can decrease ice accumulation and formation without any active intervention from humans or machines. However, such systems often require complex fabrication methods and can be costly, which limits their applicability. In this study, we report the preparation and characterization of several slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) realized by impregnating with silicone oil a candle soot layer deposited on double-sided adhesive tape. Despite the use of common household items, these SLIPSs showed anti-icing performance comparable to other systems described in the literature (ice adhesion < 20 kPa) and a good resistance to mechanical and environmental damages in laboratory conditions. The use of a flexible and functional substrate as tape allowed these devices to be stretchable without suffering significant degradation and highlights how these systems can be easily prepared and applied anywhere needed. In addition, the possibility of deforming the substrate can “allow” the application of SLIPS technology in mechanical ice removal methodologies, drastically incrementing their performance.

Novel Intrinsic Self‐Healing Poly‐Silicone‐Urea with Super‐Low Ice Adhesion Strength

“…[11,12] For example, lubrication oil or low freezing point liquids infused with low ice adhesion coating are often damaged mechanically causing the fast run-off of lubricating oil or low freezing point liquids. [13,14] Moreover, the hydrophobic materials-based low ice adhesion coatings are often easily damaged resulting in lost de-icing properties. [15,16] It is believed that to achieve long-time de-icing properties of these low ice adhesion coatings, mechanical durability, and smart function should be integrated into the material, [17,18,19,20,21,22] which are not solved until now.…”

Transparency and icephobicity of moth eye-inspired tailored omniphobic surface

“…Physically, the adhesive force refers to the electrostatic attraction between two adjacent surfaces, therefore it highly depends on the originality of the two surfaces and the contact area. The larger the liquid–surface contact area we have, the higher the adhesion we will obtain [28,40-43]. As shown in Figure 3, the highest tensile strength belonged to etched glass and increased with the increase of contact angle regardless of the surface conditions.…”