A Transparent Photo/Electrothermal Composite Coating with Liquid-like Slippery Property for All-Day Anti-/De-Icing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Photo/electrothermal surfaces can generate heat from light and electricity to combat icing.
• Combining active heating with passive slippery surfaces offers efficient all-day anti/de-icing.
• Current limitations include the lack of transparency in anti-icing coatings, hindering applications in photovoltaics and windshields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a transparent photo/electrothermal coating with liquid-like slippery properties for all-day anti/de-icing.
• To address the transparency limitations of existing anti-icing solutions.
• To create a durable and effective coating for various engineering applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a bilayer transparent coating incorporating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) brushes within an epoxy skeleton.
• Addition of UV and infrared absorbers for enhanced solar energy capture.
• Integration of an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer for electrothermal functionality.
• Characterization of coating properties including transparency, ice adhesion, and durability.

Main Results:

• The coating achieved a visible transmittance of up to 77%.
• Ultraslippery and low ice adhesion properties were demonstrated due to PDMS grafting.
• Effective photo/electrothermal conversion led to temperature increases under illumination and all-weather de-icing capabilities.
• The coating exhibited excellent stability under mechanical, optical, and thermal stress.

Conclusions:

• The developed transparent coating effectively combines photo/electrothermal and slippery properties for efficient all-day anti/de-icing.
• The coating's transparency, durability, and dual heating mechanisms make it highly promising for widespread engineering applications.
• This research overcomes transparency limitations, paving the way for advanced anti-icing solutions.