Strong anti-ice ability of nanohairs over micro-ratchet structures

Hydrophobic Solid Photothermal Slippery Surfaces with Rapid Self-repairing, Dual Anti-icing/Deicing, and Excellent Stability Based on Paraffin and Etching

Ice and snow disasters have greatly affected both the global economy and human life, and the search for efficient and stable anti-icing/deicing coatings has become the main goal of much research. Currently, the development and application of anti-icing/deicing coatings are severely limited due to their complex preparation, structural fragility, and low stability. This work presents a method for preparing hydrophobic solid photothermal slippery surfaces (SPSS) that exhibit rapid self-repairing, dual anti-icing/deicing properties, and remarkable stability. A photothermal layer of copper oxide (CuO) was prepared by using chemical deposition and etching techniques. The layer was then impregnated with stearic acid and solid paraffin wax to create a hydrophobic solid photothermal slippery surface. This solves the issue of low stability on superhydrophobic surfaces caused by fragile and irretrievable micro/nanostructures. In addition, the underlying photothermal superhydrophobic surface provides good anti-icing/deicing properties even if the paraffin on the surface evaporates or is lost during operation. The findings indicate that when subjected to simulated light irradiation, the coating's surface temperature increases to 80 °C within 12 min. The self-repair process is completed rapidly in 170 s, and at -15 °C, it takes only 201 s for the ice on the surface to melt completely. The surface underneath the paraffin exhibited good superhydrophobic properties, with a contact angle (CA) of 154.1° and a sliding angle (SA) of 6.8° after the loss of paraffin. Simultaneously, the surface's mechanical stability and durability, along with its self-cleaning and antifouling properties, enhance its service life. These characteristics provide promising opportunities for practical applications that require long-term anti-icing/deicing surfaces.

Bioinspired Fluoride-Free Magnetic Microcilia Arrays for Anti-Icing and Multidimensional Droplet Manipulation

The accumulation of ice on surfaces will bring safety issues to various human activities. Researchers have been actively developing superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS) as good anti-icing materials. However, some limitations, such as high cost, complexity of preparation, and lack of sufficient durability in extreme environments, restrict their practical applications. Inspired by bronchial mucosa cilia structure and the superhydrophobic lotus leaf structure, we generated ordered magnetic microcilia arrays (MMA) surfaces within 1 min by a fast and controllable microhole assisted magnetic-induced microcilia self-growth method. Fluoride-free superhydrophobic MMA (SMMA) was prepared by impregnating MMA into hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) modified SiO2 solution. SMMA exhibits excellent static anti-icing performance, which can significantly delay the freezing of static droplets in supercooled environments. The SMMA surface still maintains excellent dynamic anti-icing performance at -30 °C after 100 times of supercooled droplet impact. Furthermore, SMMA shows anti-icing performance for up to 2 months at low temperatures (-18 °C). Due to the sensitive magnetic response and excellent bending properties of the cilia, the MMA and SMMA surfaces also demonstrate outstanding multifunctional droplet manipulation under a magnetic field. The MMA surface has the ability to vertically capture and release droplets. The SMMA can achieve horizontal transport of droplets, mixing and microchemical detection, antigravity droplet transport in an 8° inclined array, and even complex objects can be easily transported. More importantly, the SMMA surface exhibits outstanding mechanical durability and chemical stability. It provides insights into the preparation of integrated anti-icing and droplet manipulation surfaces by using a simple green and low-cost method.

Photothermal Solid Slippery Surfaces with Rapid Self-Healing, Improved Anti/De-Icing and Excellent Stability

Icing phenomenon that occurs universally in nature and industry gets a great impact on human life. Over the past decades, extensive efforts have been made for a wide range of anti-icing/deicing surfaces, but the preparation of anti-icing/deicing interfaces that combine stability, rapid self-healing and excellent anti-icing/deicing performance remains a challenge. In this study, a photothermal solid slippery surface with excellent comprehensive performance is prepared by integrating cellulose acetate film, carbon nanotubes with paraffin wax (CCP). Apart from the excellent anti-icing and deicing properties at -17 ± 1.0 °C under 1 sun illumination, the surface can further achieve deicing at temperatures as low as -22 ± 1.0 °C under infrared light. The fabricated surface also exhibits great stability when placed in harsh conditions such as underwater or ultra-low temperature environments for over 30 days. Even when suffering from physical damage, the prepared surface can rapidly self-repair under 1 sun illumination or near-infrared (NIR) illumination within 16.0 ± 1.5 s. Due to the rapid and repeatable self-healing performance, the lubricating properties of the interface material do not deteriorate even after 50 repeated abrasing-repairing cycles. The photothermal solid slippery surface possesses wide-ranging applications and commercial value at high latitude and altitude regions.

Icephobic/anti-icing properties of superhydrophobic surfaces

In the winter, icing on solid surfaces is a typical occurrence that may create a slew of hassles and even tragedies. Anti-icing surfaces are one of the effective solutions for this kind of problem. The roughness of a superhydrophobic surface traps air and weakens the contact between the solid surface and liquid water, allowing water droplets to be removed before freezing. At present, the conventional anti-icing methods including mechanical or thermal technology are not only surface structure unfriendly but also have the obsessions of low efficiency, high energy consumption and high manufacturing costs. Hence, developing a way to remove ice by just modifying the surface shape or chemical composition with a low surface energy is extremely desirable. Numerous attempts have been made to investigate the evolution of ice nucleation and icing on superhydrophobic surfaces under the direction of the ice nucleation hypothesis. In this paper, the research progress of ice nucleation in recent years is reviewed from theoretical and application. The icephobic surfaces are described using the wettability and classical nucleation theories. The benefits and drawbacks of anti-icing superhydrophobic surface are summarized, as well as deicing methods. Finally, several applications of ice phobic materials are illustrated, and some problems and challenges in the research field are discussed. We believed that this review will be useful in guiding future water freezing initiatives.

Bio-Inspired Hierarchical Micro/Nanostructured Surfaces for Superhydrophobic and Anti-Ice Applications

We report a scalable and cost-effective fabrication approach for constructing bio-inspired micro/nanostructured surfaces. It involves silicon microstructure etching using a deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) method, nanowires deposition via glancing angle deposition (GLAD) process, and fluorocarbon thin film deposition. Compared with the smooth, microstructured, and nanostructured surfaces, the hierarchical micro/nanostructured surfaces obtained via this method showed the highest water contact angle of ∼161° and a low sliding angle of <10°. It also offered long ice delay times of 2313 s and 1658 s at −5°C and −10°C respectively, more than 10 times longer than smooth surfaces indicating excellent anti-icing properties and offering promising applications in low-temperature environments. These analyses further proved that the surface structures have a significant influence on surface wettability and anti-icing behavior. Hence, the GLAD process which is versatile and cost-effective offers the freedom of constructing nanostructures on top of microstructures to achieve the required objective in the fabrication of micro/nanostructured surfaces when compared to other fabrication techniques.

Large-area fabrication of superhydrophobic micro-conical pillar arrays on various metallic substrates

Superhydrophobic micro-conical pillar arrays have huge application prospects, from anti-icing to oil/water separation, corrosion resistance, and water droplet manipulation. However, there is still a lack of versatile methods with high processing efficiency to fabricate superhydrophobic micro-conical pillar arrays on various metallic substrates. Herein, a nanosecond laser ablation technology with versatility and high processing efficiency was developed to fabricate large-area superhydrophobic micro-conical pillar arrays. The simulation and experiments indicated that the height and the pillar inclination angle of micro-conical pillars could be easily controlled by adjusting the nanosecond laser parameters or the tilted angles of metallic substrates. The fabricated superhydrophobic micro-conical pillar arrays not only showed good mechanical robustness and chemical stability but also easily reduced the contact time for an impinging water droplet, showing potential application prospects in anti-icing from freezing rain. This kind of method with versatility and high processing efficiency will promote the practical applications of superhydrophobic micro-conical arrays.

One-Pot Preparation of Fluorine-Free Magnetic Superhydrophobic Particles for Controllable Liquid Marbles and Robust Multifunctional Coatings

In this paper, magnetic superhydrophobic particles were prepared by simultaneously coating silica microspheres and modifying 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl disilazane (HMDS) around the ferric oxide nanoparticles via a one-pot sol-gel process. The effect of the molar ratio of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to HMDS on the wettability of superhydrophobic particles (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/HMDS) was investigated. Various stable liquid marble encapsulated solvents with different surface tensions, pH values, volumes, and temperatures could be obtained by simply rolling them on superhydrophobic particles. The magnetic liquid marbles could be directional transported and fixed-point volatilized. Furthermore, superhydrophobic particles were sprayed onto different surfaces using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the binder to construct organic-inorganic composite multifunctional coatings by a one-step process. By optimizing the content of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/HMDS and PDMS in the spraying solution, the prepared coatings showed superior superhydrophobicity with contact angles of larger than 150° and sliding angles of smaller than 10°. The coated fluorine-free fabric possessed excellent air permeability, tensile strength, and hydrostatic pressure resistance, thus fulfilling the practical wearable requirements. Besides, the prepared fabrics maintained stable water repellency even after withstanding mechanical damages or long-term exposure to severe environments. Moreover, the coated superhydrophobic materials could be applied for the on-demand separation of various oil/water mixtures. In addition, the superhydrophobic fabric presented excellent photothermal conversion performances, showing outstanding anti-icing and accelerated deicing properties. Thus, the prepared nonfluorinated and stable magnetic particles offer potential in the areas of controlled encapsulation and directional delivery and, as building blocks, are promising for the construction of robust, large-area, and multifunctional self-cleaning surfaces.

Tuning nanostructured surfaces with hybrid wettability areas to enhance condensation

Vapor condensation is widespread in natural and industrial applications. Rapid and efficient condensation plays an essential role in improving energy efficiency. Despite numerous efforts over the past few decades, the fundamental mechanism of condensation and the microscopic features of condensed droplets are not well understood. Moreover, designing a nanostructured surface with wetting contrast to enhance dropwise condensation remains unclear. Herein, through molecular dynamics simulation, we characterized the condensation processes on various nanopillar surfaces, including the nucleation, growth and coalescence of nanodroplets. During condensation, the droplet size grows linearly with time as V ∝ t, and the coalescence between small droplets can affect the resultant wetting mode of large droplets. The results indicate that the cooperation between spatially ordering nucleation and dropwise growth endows hybrid nanopillar surfaces with better heat and mass transfer performance compared with other homogeneous nanopillar surfaces. Moreover, an interesting dewetting transition occurring on hydrophobic nanopillar surface was observed during droplet growth, the nucleation site and dewetting transition were analyzed based on potential energy field of surface. By varying the geometric parameters of the nanopillar, we found that the condensation rate of the hybrid nanopillar surface increases with the increase of surface solid fraction. The dense nanopillar array can not only restrain the formation of Wenzel mode droplet, but also enhance the condensation rate, which provides a guidance for the design of hybrid nanostructured surfaces.

Improving the anti-icing/frosting property of a nanostructured superhydrophobic surface by the optimum selection of a surface modifier

To understand the effect of chemical composition on the anti-icing properties of a nanostructured superhydrophobic surface (SHP), four SHP surfaces were prepared on glass, which was initially roughed by a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method and then modified with HDTMS (a siloxane coupling agent), G502 (a partially fluorinated siloxane coupling agent), FAS-17 (a fully fluorinated siloxane coupling agent) and PDMS (a kind of polysilicone widely used in power transmission lines). Results show that the anti-icing properties of these four SHP surfaces in glaze ice varied wildly and the as-prepared SHP surface which was modified with FAS-17 (SHP-FAS) demonstrated a superior anti-icing/frosting performance. Approximately 56% of the entire SHP-FAS remained free of ice after spraying it for 60 min with glaze ice, and the average delay-frosting time (the time taken for the whole surface to become covered with frost) was more than 320 min at −5 °C. Equivalent model analysis indicates that ΔG, defined as the difference in free energy of the Cassie–Baxter and Wenzel states, of the SHP-FAS is much lower than the other three SHP surfaces, giving priority to Cassie state condensation and the self-transfer phenomenon helping to effectively inhibit the frosting process by delaying the ice-bridging process, which is beneficial for improving the anti-frosting property. This work sheds light on and improves understanding of the relationship between anti-icing and anti-frosting properties and is helpful in making the optimum selection of a surface modifier for improving the anti-frosting/icing performances of a SHP surface.

To study the anti-icing properties of a nanostructured superhydrophobic surface (SHP), four SHP surfaces were prepared on glass with a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method and then modified with HDTMS, G502, FAS-17 and PDMS.

Control of ice nucleation: freezing and antifreeze strategies

Water freezing remains a perennial topic of great relevance to many important aspects of our lives; from the climate to human society and from economics to medicine, frozen water profoundly influences our living environment and life activities.

Ultra-fast vapor generation by a graphene nano-ratchet: a theoretical and simulation study

Vapor generation is of prime importance for a broad range of applications: domestic water heating, desalination and wastewater treatment, etc. However, slow and inefficient evaporation limits its development. In this study, a nano-ratchet, a multilayer graphene with cone-shaped nanopores (MGCN), to accelerate vapor generation has been proposed. By performing molecular dynamics simulation, we found that air molecules were spontaneously transported across MGCN and resulted in a remarkable pressure difference, 21 kPa, between the two sides of MGCN. We studied the dependence of the pressure difference on the ambient temperature and geometry of MGCN in detail. Through further analysis of the diffusive transport, we found that pressure difference depended on the competition between ratchet transport and Knudsen diffusion and it was further found that ratchet transport is dominant. The significant pressure difference could lead to a 15-fold or greater enhancement of vapor generation, which shows the wide applications of this nano-ratchet.

Water-repellent and corrosion-resistance properties of superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused super slippery surfaces

Inspired by lotus leaves and pitcher plants, superhydrophobic surfaces and super slippery surfaces have been fabricated to improve the characteristics of AZ31 magnesium alloy surfaces.

Hierarchical flower like double-layer superhydrophobic films fabricated on AZ31 for corrosion protection and self-cleaning

The designed sample is prepared by self-assembly of octadecyltrichlorosilane and deposition of ferric stearate, and the contact angle is 160°.

Robust Anti-Icing Performance of a Flexible Superhydrophobic Surface

A material with superhydrophobic and anti-ice/de-icing properties, which has a micro-/nanostructured surface, is produced by a straightforward method. This material comprises a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microstructure with ZnO nanohairs and shows excellent water and ice repellency even at low temperatures (-20 °C) and relatively high humidity (90%) for over three months. These results are expected to be helpful for designing smart, non-wetting materials that can be adapted to low-temperature environments for the development of anti-icing systems.

Bioinspired Interfacial Materials with Enhanced Drop Mobility: From Fundamentals to Multifunctional Applications

The development of bioinspired interfacial materials with enhanced drop mobility that mimic the innate functionalities of nature will have a significant impact on the energy, environment and global healthcare. Despite extensive progress, state of the art interfacial materials have not reached the level of maturity sufficient for industrial applications in terms of scalability, stability, and reliability. These are complicated by their operating environments and lack of facile approaches to control the local structural texture and chemical composition at multiple length scales. The recent advances in the fundamental understanding are reviewed, as well as practical applications of bioinspired interfacial materials, with an emphasis on the drop bouncing and coalescence-induced jumping behaviors. Perspectives on how to catalyze new discoveries and to foster technological adoption to move this exciting area forward are also suggested.

Robust superhydrophobic surface on Al substrate with durability, corrosion resistance and ice-phobicity

Practical application of superhydrophobic surfaces is limited by the fragility of nanoscale asperities. Combining chemical etching and anodization, microscale pits and nanoscale pores, instead of the micro and nano protrusions on traditional superhydrophobic surfaces mimicking Lutos leaves, were fabricated on commercially pure aluminum surfaces. After modified by FDTS, the surfaces were superhydrophobic and self-cleaning. The ultrahigh hardness and electrochemical stability of Al₂O₃ coating endowed the surface excellent mechanical durability and good corrosion resistance. Because the method is scalable, it may find practical application on body panels of automobiles and aircrafts and so on.

Strategies for anti-icing: low surface energy or liquid-infused?

Recent progress on the preparation and surface characteristics of polymeric anti-icing coatings from low surface energy or liquid-infused slippery surfaces is reviewed and illustrated.

Oleophobicity of Biomimetic Micropatterned Surface and Its Effect on the Adhesion of Frozen Oil

The relationship between the oleophobicity of micropatterned surfaces and the reduction of oil adhesion at low temperatures was explored by using siloxane elastomer surfaces as a model system. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces were fabricated with varying oleophobicity from oleophilic to superoleophobic by combing the blending of trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)silane (FDTS) into PDMS with the construction of bioinspired micropillars. The oil contact angles of micropillars were >130°, with the largest contact angle measured to be 146°. The micropillared surface showed remarkable self-cleaning properties; the contact angle hysteresis was <15°. The transparent oil droplets on PDMS surfaces of varied oleophobicity were frozen into a white-colored solid at -25 °C with the aid of a cooling system. Adhesion forces of the frozen oil droplets were obtained from the knock-off tests, showing that the adhesion forces dropped with the increased oleophobicity. The largest adhesion force was observed on the oleophilic flat surface, while the lowest adhesion force was on the highest oleophobic micropillared surface. The relative effectiveness of chemical and physical modifications on adhesion strength reduction was studied in terms of FDTS and micropillars, respectively. The results showed that a reduction of adhesion strength by 4% was reached by blending FDTS into flat PDMS, while a much more pronounced reduction of frozen oil adhesion strength by 60% was achieved by blending FDTS into PDMS micropillars; these results suggested a possible synergic effect of the FDTS chemistry and micropillar on the reduction of adhesion strength of frozen oil droplets.

Rational nanostructuring of surfaces for extraordinary icephobicity

Icing of surfaces is commonplace in nature, technology and everyday life, bringing with it sometimes catastrophic consequences. A rational methodology for designing materials with extraordinary resistance to ice formation and adhesion remains however elusive. We show that ultrafine roughnesses can be fabricated, so that the ice nucleation-promoting effect of nanopits on surfaces is effectively counteracted in the presence of an interfacial quasiliquid layer. The ensuing interface confinement strongly suppresses the stable formation of ice nuclei. We explain why such nanostructuring leads to the same extremely low, robust nucleation temperature of ∼-24 °C for over three orders of magnitude change in RMS size (∼0.1 to ∼100 nm). Overlaying such roughnesses on pillar-microtextures harvests the additional benefits of liquid repellency and low ice adhesion. When tested at a temperature of -21 °C, such surfaces delayed the freezing of a sessile supercooled water droplet at the same temperature by a remarkable 25 hours.