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Updated: May 2, 2026
Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Metal Surfaces for Anti-Icing Applications
Published on: August 15, 2018
Antifogging and icing-delay properties of composite micro- and nanostructured surfaces
Mengxi Wen1, Lei Wang, Mingqian Zhang
1Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, P. R. China.
Abstract:
A composite micro/nanostrucutred (MN) surface was designed using poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) polymer in combination with ZnO materials via heat-pattern-transfer and crystal-growth techniques. The surface, composed of ZnO nanohairs over PVDF microratchets (i.e., ZP-MN), displays excellent antifogging and icing-delay properties. Condensed water droplets can be easily shed from the ZP-MN surface at -5 °C for ∼1600 s via a slight wind or tilting. The droplets do not completely freeze on the ZP-MN surface at -10 °C until ∼7360 s. This investigation offers a way to design a structured surface that possesses anti-icing ability, which is significant because it can be extended to fields such as microdevices, engineering systems, and engines that operate in a cold or humid environment.
