Superhydrophobic materials used for anti-icing Theory, application, and development

Abstract

Summary The accumulation of ice will reduce the performance of the base material and lead to all kinds of damage, even a threat to people's life safety. Recent increasing studies suggest that superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) originating from nature can remove impacting and condensing droplets from the surface before freezing to subzero temperatures, and it can be seen that hydrophobic/SH coating has good freezing cold resistance. But such anti-icing performances and developments in practical applications are restricted by various factors. In this paper, the mechanism and process of surface icing phenomenon are introduced, as well as how to prevent surface icing on SHS. The development of SH materials in the aspect of anti-icing in recent years is described, and the existing problems in the aspect of anti-icing are analyzed, hoping to provide new research ideas and methods for the research of anti-icing materials.

Multiscale Textured Mesh Substrates that Glide Alcohol Droplets and Impede Ice Nucleation

“…[ 33 ] It is evident from these expressions that the critical radius required to stabilize a nucleus is inversely proportional to the degree of supercooling. [ 30,42,69 ] Substituting Equation () into Equation (), critical Gibbs free energy of homogenous nucleation, Δ G * hom , can be written as Equation (). …”

Self-healing system of superhydrophobic surfaces inspired from and beyond nature

“…Over the past two decades, superhydrophobic surfaces have received widespread attention due to their potential applications in self-cleaning, 1 antifouling, 2 anti-icing, 3 oil/water separation, 4 etc. 5,6 In 1997, Barthlott and Neinhuis proposed that micro-scale papillae and epidermal wax are the key reasons for the self-cleaning properties of the lotus leaf surface.…”

Thermo-responsive Fluorinated Organogels Showing Anti-fouling and Long-Lasting/Repeatable Icephobic Properties

“…In fact, several different coating/surface designs have been proposed, but they have all been met with limited success for one reason or another. Superhydrophobic surfaces, for example, have found success in delaying ice nucleation by allowing the water droplets to be quickly removed before they can freeze, ,− but these delays are finite and any ice that eventually forms can be strongly adhered in the surface micro-/nanostructures. These surfaces are also ineffective against frosting because water vapor can readily permeate and condense within the surface textures, leading to strongly adhered ice formations. ,,− Instead of trying to prevent ice formation, these textured surfaces can be overfilled with a lubricant to create slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) which allow ice buildups to be easily shed from the surface due to very low τ ice values (in the range of 0.002–20 kPa). ,,− In this case however, the ice-shedding properties are limited by the lubricant retention as the lubricant can be lost by several mechanisms, including each ice-shedding event, gravity, evaporation, and washing by other liquids such as rain. − …”