To be or not to be a hydrophobic matrix? the role of coating hydrophobicity on anti-icing behavior and ions mobility of ionic liquids

Thermomechanically Resilient Polyionic Elastomers with Enhanced Anti-Icing Performances

“…Furthermore, the anti-icing durability of PIE is compared with several typical organic ionic anti-icing materials (Table S2). The organic ion-infused anti-icing materials quickly lose their anti-icing properties due to the depletion of free ionic liquids; , the anti-icing surfaces with organic ions grafted onto polymer chains offer multifunctional anti-icing performance but are limited in practical applications due to their softness. ,, In contrast, PIE demonstrates long-lasting anti-icing performance and mechanical robustness (Table S2).…”

“…The emerging ice-responsive anti-icing surfaces with the ability to break ice crystals are a promising way to avoid ice formation and accretion, such as organic chemical-infused surfaces, materials based on antifreezing proteins, hydrated anti-icing surfaces, and ionic anti-icing surfaces. ,, Due to the interaction between ice and ice-responsive components (e.g., antifreezing inorganic/organic ions, small organic molecules, or antifreezing proteins), an antifreezing liquid layer appears on the surface when water/ice contacts the anti-icing surface at low temperatures. − As a result, these ice-responsive surfaces have the potential ability to inhibit ice formation and lower ice adhesion simultaneously. , The hydrated surfaces prevent ice formation and accretion based on breaking the H-bonds from ice, in which antifreezing chemicals (e.g., ethanol and ethylene glycol) are incorporated into the materials. , For the ionic anti-icing surfaces, inorganic salts or organic ionic liquid/groups are incorporated into polymers to obtain anti-icing materials, such as ion-infused materials and ion-grafted polyionic materials. ,− In contrast to anti-icing surfaces with free ions (NaCl, ionic liquid), polyionic materials avoid the depletion of free ions during the deicing process, enhancing anti-icing durability. A prevalent strategy for fabricating polyionic materials involves grafting hydrophilic ionic groups onto elastic polydimethyl­siloxane (PDMS), facilitating the precise manipulation of ice nucleation and adhesion processes. ,, However, the mechanical properties of these gel-like or soft elastic (ca.…”