Durable Superelliptical Topological Superhydrophobic Surfaces With Tolerance to Extreme Conditions for High-Performance Anti-Icing.

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) show great promise for anti-icing by repelling supercooled water, delaying ice nucleation, and reducing ice adhesion, yet their practical applications are limited by poor durability under extreme conditions. Here, we present a multiscale stiff-soft integrated strategy that combines superelliptical topological (SET) microstructures with an intrinsically superhydrophobic nanocomposites to create superelliptical topological SHSs (SET-SHSs) with exceptional robustness and stable water repellency. SET-SHSs are capable of withstanding severe extreme conditions, including prolonged mechanical abrasion (12.25 kPa, 16 m), UV aging (>300 h), cryogenic (-196°C, >300 h) and high-temperature (350°C, >20 h), and violent rainstorms (Beaufort scale 11). Moreover, SET-SHSs exhibit outstanding anti-icing performance at -20°C, with a superior icing delay ratio of 24.7 compared to other SHSs. Under quasi-steady cooling (-0.90°C min^-1), the static icing delay time was as high as 881 s, owing to a low solid-liquid contact fraction (∼10%) and a reduced ice nucleation temperature (-13.9°C). Moreover, effective ice protection was maintained in an ice wind tunnel (10 m s^-1, -10°C) under a low applied heat flux density of 0.7 W cm^-2. This strategy provides a general approach for designing robust and durable SHSs for applications in extreme environments.