Key Factors Affecting Durable Anti-Icing of Slippery Surfaces: Pore Size and Porosity

Abstract

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) are widely used as an effective passive approach to reduce icing disasters. However, various porous structures make SLIPSs exhibit different droplet mobility and lubricant stability. Undoubtedly, the substrate surface has a great impact on the durable anti-icing of SLIPSs. Herein, surfaces with different pore sizes and porosities were prepared to study their effects on the performance of SLIPS. The results show that small pores and high porosity are beneficial for the preparation of durable anti-icing SLIPS. The small pore size (about 100 nm) has a strong capillary pressure on the lubricant, and the surface with high porosity (66%) possesses a large lubricant–liquid contact ratio. These two can greatly improve the lubricant stability of SLIPS and achieve rapid self-healing. The SLIPS prepared by a suitable porous surface shows excellent anti-icing performance in the simulated glaze ice and durable anti-icing ability in the long-term icing/deicing cycles. In detail, the prepared SLIPS experiences more than 140 icing/deicing cycles through four effective self-healing while maintaining extremely low ice adhesion (<20 kPa). This work proposes a certain improved SLIPS with small pores and high porosity to achieve excellent durable anti-icing performance, broadening the practical applications of SLIPS.

Anti-Icing Mechanism for a Novel Slippery Aluminum Stranded Conductor

“…The capillary force provided by the porous structure with high porosity can weaken the redistribution of the lubricant layer under the droplet. The surface porosity in this study reached 64%, which is almost the maximum porosity when the pore wall was not damaged . This high porosity helps to form a stable lubricant layer between the droplet and the porous substrate.…”

“…The surface porosity in this study reached 64%, which is almost the maximum porosity when the pore wall was not damaged. 25 This high porosity helps to form a stable lubricant layer between the droplet and the porous substrate.…”

“…Most of the SLIPS preparation processes are performed on simple small-area plates, including our previous work. − For example, the SLIPS was prepared by spraying hexadecyltrimethoxysilane or SiO 2 nanoparticles onto the aluminum substrate with a size of 45 mm × 45 mm × 1 mm . Microgroove structures were fabricated on the SLIPS substrates using laser interference lithography, and the sample size was 10 mm × 10 mm × 1 mm .…”

Comparison of Anti-Icing, Antifouling, and Anticorrosion Performances of the Superhydrophobic and Lubricant-Infused Coatings Based on a Hollow-Structured Kapok Fiber

“…Furthermore, the self-healing property of scratch lubricant-infused coatings can be realized based on the fluidity of lubricants . The SLIPS and LIS have been widely applied in anticorrosion, , anti-icing, − self-cleaning, antifouling, , and drag-reduction , applications. Several studies have been focused on fabricating microstructures using methods such as electrochemical/chemical/plasma etching, − anodic oxidation, , hot microembossing, laser machining, , hydrothermal method, , sol–gel process, self-assembly layer-by-layer, spin coating, spray coating, and electrospinning and expanding their applications to areas including microfluidics manipulation − and water collection. , However, applications in real environments face many challenges such as complex and inefficient preparation technologies, loss of lubricants, and fragile microstructures.…”

Multifunctional Anti-Icing Gel Surface with Enhanced Durability

“…To address these challenges, innovative anti-icing surfaces have emerged based on the mechanisms governing ice formation and deposition on surfaces, such as superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs), lubricant-infused surfaces (LISs), and soft elastomers. − SHSs with lotus leaf-inspired hierarchical structures retard ice formation and adhesion by minimizing solid–liquid contact area and heat transfer through the creation of air pockets . Nevertheless, the mechanical interlocking in high humidity conditions and wear of the surface structure lead to the failure of anti-icing properties. , Lubricant-infused surfaces (LISs) are specifically designed and manufactured for deicing through the use of interfacial lubrication. , However, the rapid depletion of lubricant during the deicing process significantly diminishes the durability of LISs. − Conversely, various elastomers have a more durable anti-icing effect, which mitigates ice adhesion strength through deformation mismatches and/or crack-induced local stress concentration sites. − However, the practical application of soft elastomer surfaces is hindered by their weak mechanical durability and undesired large deformation as well as poor anti-icing properties in ultralow temperature environments (≤−30 °C), urging the need for improvement in these aspects …”