Fabrication and Experimental Study of Micro/Sub-Micro Porous Copper Coating for Anti-Icing Application

Micro and sub-micro-spherical copper powder slurries were elaborately prepared to fabricate different types of porous coating surfaces. These surfaces were further treated with low surface energy modification to obtain the superhydrophobic and slippery capacity. The surface wettability and chemical component were measured. The results showed that both the micro and sub-micro porous coating layer greatly increased the water-repellence capability of the substrate compared with the bare copper plate. Notably, the PFDTES-fluorinated coating surfaces yielded superhydrophobic ability against water under 0 degrees C with a contact angle of similar to 150 degrees and a contact angle of hysteresis of similar to 7 degrees. The contact angle results showed that the water repellency of the coating surface deteriorated with decreasing temperature from 10 degrees C to -20 degrees C, and the reason was probably recognized as the vapor condensation in the sub-cooled porous layer. The anti-icing test showed that the ice adhesion strengths of the micro and sub-micro-coated surfaces were 38.5 kPa and 30.2 kPa, producing a 62.8% and 72.7% decrease compared to the bare plate. The PFDTES-fluorinated and slippery liquid-infused porous coating surfaces both produced ultra-low ice adhesion strengths of 11.5-15.7 kPa compared with the other non-treated surfaces, which showed prominent properties for anti-icing and deicing requirement of the metallic surface.

Automated summary

Micro and sub-micro-spherical copper powder slurries were used to fabricate porous coating surfaces with superhydrophobic and slippery capacity. The water-repellence capability of the surfaces was greatly increased compared to the bare copper plate. The PFDTES-fluorinated and slippery liquid-infused porous coating surfaces showed ultra-low ice adhesion strengths, making them suitable for anti-icing and deicing requirements of metallic surfaces.