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Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Metal Surfaces for Anti-Icing Applications
Published on: August 15, 2018
Robust Thermochromic Photothermal Coating with Ultraslippery Anti-icing/Deicing and All-Season Temperature Regulation
Shize Sun1, Xiaolin Liu1, Zelinlan Wang1
1Institute of Bionic and Micro-Nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
Abstract:
Photothermal materials with high conversion efficiency offer a promising approach for preventing ice accretion on infrastructures like wind turbines. However, the conflict between weak-light inefficiency in winter and overheating hazards in summer remains a challenge for composites. Herein, we develop a robust thermochromic photothermal icephobic coating with switchable solar-driven anti-/deicing and anti-overheating modes for all-season demands. During freezing winter, a 0.05 W/cm2 weak solar irradiation can raise the black coating (solar absorbance >97%) temperature from -10 to 7.6 °C and facilitate rapid ice shedding from rotating rotor. During summer, the thermochromic coating turns white with strong reflection and limits coating temperature below 51 °C, inhibiting composites oxidation above 60 °C. Strikingly, the interpenetrating elasticity and ultraslippage endow the coating with exceptional ice detachment properties, exhibiting an ultralow ice adhesion strength (<31 kPa) and sliding angle (<8.3°), which are maintained even after 200 Taber abrasion cycles. This study successfully addresses the critical challenge of regulating the all-season temperature of photothermal coatings, pioneering a new pathway for designing intelligent anti-icing coatings for wind turbines and low-altitude rotorcraft.

