A donor-acceptor-type fluorophore containing a twisted diphenylacrylonitrile and triphenylamine has been developed by using the Suzuki reaction. The system indicates typical intramolecular charge-transfer properties. Upon mechanical grinding or hydrostatic pressure, the fluorophore reveals a multicolored fluorescence switching. Interestingly, a fluorescence color transition from green to red was clearly observed, and the change of photoluminescent (PL) wavelength gets close to 111 nm. The mechanisms of high-contrast mechanochromic behavior are fully investigated by techniques including powder XRD, PL lifetime, high-pressure PL lifetime, and Raman spectra analysis. The tremendous PL wavelength shift is attributed to gradual transition of excited states from the local excited state to the charge-transfer state.

Anti-icing/icephobic coatings, typically applied in the form of surface functional materials, are considered to be an ideal selection to solve the icing issues faced by daily life and industrial production. However, the applications of anti-icing coatings are greatly limited by the two main challenges: bonding strength with substrates and stability of the high anti-icing performance. Here, we designed and fabricated a kind of high-performance superhydrophobic fluorinated silica (F-SiO 2 )@polydimethylsiloxane coatings and further emphasized the improvement of the bonding strength with substrates and the maintenance of high antiicing performance. The resultant coatings exhibited excellent water repellency with a contact angle up to 155.3°and a very short contact time (∼10.2 ms) of impact droplets. At low temperatures, the coming droplets still rapidly rebounded off the coating surface, and the superhydrophobic coatings displayed a more than 50-fold increase of freezing time comparing with bare aluminum. The ice adhesion strength on the coatings was only 26.3 kPa, which was far less than that (821.9 kPa) of bare aluminum. Furthermore, the nanoporous structures constructed by anodic oxidation could tremendously enhance the bonding strength of the coatings with the substrate, which was evaluated through a standard method (ASTM D3359). The anti-icing properties still retained high stability under the conditions of 30 icing/deicing cycles, soaking, and scouring of acid solution (pH = 5.6). This work can effectively push the anti-icing coatings toward a real-world application.

Aircraft icing refers to ice formation and accumulation on the windward surface of aircrafts. It is mainly caused by the striking of unstable supercooled water droplets suspended in clouds onto a solid surface. Aircraft icing poses an increasing threat to the safety of flight due to the damage of aerodynamic shape. This review article provides a comprehensive understanding of the preparation and anti-icing applications of the superhydrophobic coatings applied on the surface of aircrafts. The first section introduces the hazards of aircraft icing and the underlying formation mechanisms of ice on the surface of aircrafts. Although some current anti-icing and de-icing strategies have been confirmed to be effective, they consume higher energy and lead to some fatigue damages to the substrate materials. Considering the icing process, the functional coatings similar to lotus leaf with extreme water repellency and unusual self-cleaning properties have been proposed and are expected to reduce the relied degree on traditional de-icing approaches and even to replace them in near future. The following sections mainly discuss the current research progress on the wetting theories of superhydrophobicity and main methods to prepare superhydrophobic coatings. Furthermore, based on the bouncing capacity of impact droplets, the dynamic water repellency of superhydrophobic coatings is discussed as the third evaluated parameter. It is crucial to anti-icing applications because it describes the ability of droplets to rapidly bounce off before freezing. Subsequently, current studies on the application of anti-icing superhydrophobic coatings including the anti-icing mechanisms and application status are introduced in detail. Finally, some limitations and issues related to the anti-icing applications are proposed to provide a future outlook on investigations of the superhydrophobic anti-icing coatings.

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