Exceptional Superhydrophobicity and Low Velocity Impact Icephobicity of Acetone-Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Films

Abstract

We present a simple method to produce carbon nanotube-based films with exceptional superhydrophobicity and impact icephobicity by depositing acetone-treated single-walled carbon nanotubes on glass substrates. This method is scalable and can be adopted for any substrate, both flexible and rigid. These films have indicated a high contact angle, in the vicinity of 170°, proved both by static and dynamic analysis processes. The dynamic evaporation studies indicated that a droplet deposited on the treated films evaporated in the constant contact angle mode for more than 80% of the total evaporation time, which is definitely a characteristic of superhydrophobic surfaces. Furthermore, the acetone-functionalized films showed a strong ability to mitigate ice accretion from supercooled water droplets (-8 °C), when the droplets were found to bounce off the films tilted at 30°. The untreated nanotube films did not indicate similar behavior, and the supercooled water droplets remained attached to the films' surfaces. Such studies could be the foundation of highly versatile technologies for both water and ice mitigation.

The icephobic performance of alkyl-grafted aluminum surfaces

“…Significantly delayed ice formation [3,10,12,13,15,16,23,26] and reduced ice adhesion or accumulation [3,10,[15][16][17]19,21,25] have been reported for various SHSs. Theoretical models have also been developed, demonstrating how SHSs can delay ice formation from impinging water droplets [9,11,13], which is in good agreement with experimental work [3,14,25,26].…”

“…The design and use of surfaces/coatings with minimum ice adherence and reduced ice accumulation is still actively considered as the most appealing and universal approach to the problem [3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Most of the existing studies on anti-ice surfaces are focused on the reduction of ice adhesion strength [1,[5][6][7][8]10,[19][20][21][22][23][24] or delayed ice nucleation/formation [3,9,12,13,23,25,26]. Therefore lately the research in this area has been chiefly focused on the use and development of superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) for preventing ice formation and accumulation [4,[9][10][11][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]…”

“…Most of the existing studies on anti-ice surfaces are focused on the reduction of ice adhesion strength [1,[5][6][7][8]10,[19][20][21][22][23][24] or delayed ice nucleation/formation [3,9,12,13,23,25,26]. Therefore lately the research in this area has been chiefly focused on the use and development of superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) for preventing ice formation and accumulation [4,[9][10][11][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][25][26][27][28][29]. Significantly delayed ice formation [3,10,12,13,15,16,23,26] and reduced ice adhesion or accumulation [3,…”

“…Therefore lately the research in this area has been chiefly focused on the use and development of superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) for preventing ice formation and accumulation [4,[9][10][11][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][25][26][27][28][29]. Significantly delayed ice formation [3,10,12,13,15,16,23,26] and reduced ice adhesion or accumulation [3,10,[15][16][17]19,21,25] have been reported for various SHSs. Theoretical models have also been developed, demonstrating how SHSs can delay ice formation from impinging water droplets [9,11,13], which is in good agreement with experimental work [3,14,25,26].…”

Development of nano-structured icephobic surfaces based on plasma polymerization /

“…Many studies have further shown the good correlation between superhydrophobicity and icephobicity [52,[150][151][152], although a few studies did not agree with this aspect and showed the inverse results [55,56]. In order to compare and come to conclusion regarding the relationship between hydrophobicity and icephobicity, several factors should be considered such as: the method of ice accumulating on a surface, type of the accumulated ice, and the morphology of the surface.…”