Insight into the principles of photothermal superhydrophobic coatings, recent advances in anti-/de-icing, frontier...

Photothermal superhydrophobic coatings originate from the synergistic integration of photothermal performance and superhydrophobic properties. Their dual anti-icing and de-icing protection system is extremely valuable in basic research and technical innovation, which has shown broad application prospects in wind power, aerospace, transportation and other fields. Although photothermal superhydrophobic coatings are significantly superior to traditional de-icing methods in terms of energy efficiency and anti-icing effectiveness, they still pose considerable challenges in practical applications. The paper reviews the latest progress in photothermal superhydrophobic coatings for anti-/de-icing. It firstly explains the basic principles of superhydrophobic coatings, including contact angle hysteresis, photothermal conversion mechanisms and their influencing factors. Based on a functional approach, this paper details the latest research findings and technological breakthroughs in four areas of photothermal superhydrophobic coatings: anti-/de-icing, self-healing, transparent self-cleaning and all-weather anti-icing. Analyze its current applications in wind power, aerospace, power and communications, and transportation based on engineering application cases. Finally, the system reviews the challenges of coatings in terms of mechanical durability, large-scale preparation, environmental protection, transparency and all-weather adaptability. The future direction is proposed from multiple dimensions, including material innovation, process optimization, structural design, etc., providing theoretical guidance and technical reference for industrialization.