Recent advances in carbon based anti-icing materials: new insights from Hansen Solubility Parameter analysis

Ice accumulation on materials exposed to extreme environments, such as wind turbines, aircraft, and power lines, poses significant safety hazards and economic losses. Recent advancements in carbon-based anti-icing materials (CBAIMs) leverage superhydrophobic, electrothermal, and photothermal effects to effectively mitigate ice formation and adhesion. This review summarizes the latest progress in CBAIMs incorporating various carbon nanostructures, including single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene (G), carbon nanohorns (CNHs), carbon fibers (CFs), and carbon dots (CDs). The integration of these nanoforms produces low-energy, micro- and nano-textured surfaces, reducing droplet adhesion, ice nucleation, and ice-surface bonding. Moreover, combining electrothermal and photothermal functionalities further enhances anti-icing performance. To gain deeper insights into the underlying anti-icing mechanisms, we formulate the postulate of stability of so-called monostable Cassie-Baxter state. Next, using experimental data from the literature (2020-2025), we conduct, for the first time, a Hansen Solubility Parameter (HSP) analysis, revealing that many materials critical to extreme-environment applications exhibit poor ice resistance due to high dispersion force components (δ_D). Surface functionalization via carbon-based coatings mitigates this effect. A novel correlation between the Relative Energy Distance in the Hansen parameter space (Δ_CBAIM-ice) and hydrophobicity is established, demonstrating that CNHs and CNTs exhibit the highest ice resistance. Overall, carbon nanoform modification markedly enhances anti-icing performance, with HSP analysis providing a mechanistic explanation.