Antifreeze Protein-Inspired Zwitterionic Graphene Oxide Nanosheets for a Photothermal Anti-icing Coating

Abstract

Organisms that survive at freezing temperatures produce antifreeze proteins (AFPs) to manage ice nucleation and growth. Inspired by AFPs, a series of synthetic materials have been developed to mimic these proteins in order to avoid the limitations of natural AFPs. Despite their great importance in various antifreeze applications, the relationship between structure and performance of AFP mimics remains unclear, especially whether their molecular charge-specific effects on ice inhibition exist. Herein, we design the AFP mimics─charged graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets─grafted with positive charge, negative charge, and zwitterionic groups, respectively. The relationship between the GO charge structure and antifreeze performance is investigated, and the distinct efficiency of charge in ice inhibition is systematically discovered. Based on the best-performing zwitterionic GO nanosheets, a highly efficient anti-icing and deicing coating is created. Moreover, benefiting from the photothermal property of GO nanosheets, the microstructures of coating are constructed to further enhance solar thermal deicing performance.