The Perspectives of Hydrophobic Coatings for Mitigating Icing on Atmospheric Structures

Abstract

Ice accumulation on atmospheric structures will result not only in inconvenience to human activities, but also various catastrophic events. Many anti-icing coatings have been developed for anti-ice accretion on various atmospheric structures. However, such mitigating icing performances and developments in practical applications are restricted by various factors. Therefore, current mitigating icing coatings are far from practical implementation. Rough and smooth hydrophobic coatings have demonstrated their potential for mitigating ice formation. To advance the development of mitigating icing coatings, a perspective of hydrophobic coatings for mitigating icing is in need. Herein, this paper categorizes the mitigating icing coatings by their wettability firstly. Then, we recap the state-of-the-art hydrophobic coatings for mitigating icing. Afterwards, we point out the deficiency and limitations of current coatings for anti-icing. At last, we provide a perspective of future trends and development directions. This perspective review can guide the design of mitigating icing coatings towards practical implementation.