Transparent, Photothermal, and Icephobic Surfaces via Layer-by-Layer Assembly

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Icing and frosting on transparent surfaces degrade visibility for optical equipment and infrastructure.
• Developing energy-saving, transparent coatings that harvest solar energy is a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct transparent, photothermic, and icephobic composite surfaces.
• To investigate the potential of these surfaces for energy saving and visibility maintenance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized layer-by-layer assembly to create composite surfaces from photothermal nanomaterials and polyelectrolytes.
• Employed electrostatic attractions between positively-charged polypyrrole nanoparticles and negatively-charged poly(acrylic acid) as exemplary materials.
• Explored material diversity using graphene oxide and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride).

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated optically transparent photothermal coatings with excellent light transmittance (>60%).
• Achieved a significant temperature increase of 35 °C under 1.9-sun illumination with a seven-bilayer coating.
• Demonstrated effective frost inhibition, rapid melting of accumulated frost (<300 s), and reduced ice adhesion (≈0 kPa) at subzero temperatures (down to -35 °C) under sunlight.

Conclusions:

• The developed transparent photothermal and icephobic coatings offer a promising solution for maintaining visibility and saving energy.
• These coatings exhibit efficient solar energy harvesting for de-icing and frost prevention.
• The layer-by-layer assembly method provides a versatile platform for fabricating advanced functional surfaces.