Frosting and defrosting on the hydrophilic nylon-6 nanofiber membrane-coated surfaces

Ice formation on various surfaces causes catastrophic consequences or enormous economic losses. Super-hydrophobic surfaces with extreme water repellency were applied for removing ice efficiently; however, their practical applications are hindered by the fabrication of the complicated micro/nanostructures of the surfaces. In this work, we proposed using hydrophilic nylon-6 nanofiber membrane coating for enhancing deicing. The nylon-6 nanofiber membrane can be easily made by electrospinning. Given the abundant kink sites provided by a large number of ice nucleation sites on the membrane, the formed ice layer could be removed quickly in the deicing process on the membrane-coated surfaces. The total time required for the ice to completely dissipated has decreased by 80% compared with a noncoated surface. The substantially enhanced deicing ability of the nylon-6 nanofiber membrane indicates its potential for practical applications.

Automated summary

The study proposed using a hydrophilic nylon-6 nanofiber membrane coating to enhance deicing, which can be easily made by electrospinning. The membrane with ice nucleation sites on it can quickly remove the formed ice layer. The substantial improvement in deicing ability indicates the potential for practical applications.