Fabrication of a superhydrophobic surface with a hierarchical nanoflake–micropit structure and its anti-icing properties

Abstract

Herein, we report a novel route to fabricate a robust anti-icing superhydrophobic surface with a hierarchical nanoflake–micropit structure (constructed by a combination of lithography processing and chemical etching methods) on an aluminum substrate.

Nanoscale Coatings Derived from Fluoroalkyl and PDMS Alkoxysilanes on Rough Aluminum Surfaces for Improved Durability and Anti-Icing Properties

“…After 40 cycles of icing/melting tests conducted on this surface, the water contact angle, sliding angle, and ice adhesion force were 167°, 3°, and 131 kPa, respectively. Besides the above-mentioned studies, numerous studies have used a combination of chemical etching and fluorosilane coatings to produce excellent anti-icing surfaces. ,, In the case of a material having a reactive functional group, such as alkoxy or trichlorosilane, which forms strong and stable covalent bonds with the etched Al surface, the durable icephobicity of the surface can be highly enhanced. Instead of the polymeric polysiloxanes, chemically reactive PDMS-alkoxysilane can be considered a suitable combination for designing passive icephobicity exhibiting both the lubricating ability of polysiloxane and the reactivity of silane with the substrate.…”

Thermodynamic method for establishment of relationship between icephobicity/superhydrophobicity and microstructure–Based on computing for adhesion work

“…8(e) for composite with 9(d') for non–composite), if from the adhesion work, for the same solid water droplet, the W ai from composite wetting state is obviously fewer than that from non–composite wetting state, even having difference in order of magnitude (10 -−8 vs. 10 -6 ). In consideration of different contact area, if transform the ratio of the adhesion work into that of the adhesion force, the ratio of the adhesion force is closer to the above reality [[29], [30], [31]].

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“…For the non–composite wetting state, although we have no adaptable instrument to measure the roughness accurately, at least, model prediction can qualitatively explain series of experiment results on the SHS for anti–icing/icephobicity, of which the SHS, with hierarchical micro/nanostructure and low surface energy coatings(solid–liquid interface often appears composite wetting state), have fewer adhesion force (the reduced quantity is up to 90%)and long icing delay time compared with the smooth surface (solid–liquid interface appears non–composite wetting state) [[29], [30], [31]]. According to our computing (compare Fig.…”

Demonstration of an Enhanced “Interconnect Topology”-Based Superhydrophobic Surface on 2024 Aluminum Alloy by Femtosecond Laser Ablation and Temperature-Controlled Aging Treatment

“…More specifically, such types of surfaces exhibit a contact angle greater than 150° and a slide angle smaller than 5° . Owing to their extreme water-repellent properties and unique self-cleaning ability, superhydrophobic surfaces possess great advantages for various potential applications including oil–water separation, − water mist collection, − cell engineering, , enhanced heat transfer, , drag reduction, − and anti-icing. − A variety of strategies have been proposed in the literature in order to obtain superhydrophobic surfaces, such as the template method, , the deposition technique, , the chemical etching approach, , the sol–gel method, the self-assembly property, the electrospinning process, and the hydrothermal mechanism. ,, However, the above-mentioned procedures exhibit several disadvantages such as expensive cost, complicated processing steps, severe limitations from the specific material configuration, lack of flexibility in the structure design, and environmental pollution. As far as the chemical etching method is concerned, although it can prepare large-area superhydrophobic surfaces with one processing step, it has poor control over the surface structure, and it is difficult to design multilevel complex structures.…”