All-Day Anti-Icing/De-Icing Coating by Solar-Thermal and Electric-Thermal Effects

Ice formation is a common phenomenon that brings security risks in numerous fields. A superhydrophobic surface can greatly delay icing time due to its liquid repellence feature, but it fails under cold and humid conditions. In this work, a photo-thermal@electro-thermal superhydrophobic coating (PESC) consisting of electric-conductive carbon nanotubes (ECNTs) and fluoro-modified polyacrylate is constructed by means of spray to realize both anti-icing and de-icing simultaneously. Traditional ECNTs not only provide hierarchical micro-nano structures to construct superhydrophobic surfaces for anti-icing, but also guarantee de-icing capacity because of solar-thermal and electric-thermal effects. In warm daytime, enough heat is generated by solar-thermal conversion to keep the temperature of the coating surface above zero to achieve anti-icing and de-icing. On a cloudy day or extremely cold day, the coating also can stay warm to prevent icing, owing to photo-thermal and electric-thermal dual effects. And during the cold nighttime, the coating is heated to prevent icing after it is electrified as a result of electric-thermal effects. The PESC system can reduce electricity consumption from the maximum, fulfilling eco-friendly and energy saving concepts. This functional superhydrophobic coating with anti-icing and swift de-icing performance may have broad application prospects in the power industry.

Automated summary

The study has developed a photo-thermal@electro-thermal superhydrophobic coating which achieves both anti-icing and de-icing functions, reducing electricity consumption and aligning with eco-friendly principles. The coating can prevent icing effectively in warm daytime, on cloudy days, or during cold nights.