Plasmonic photothermal superhydrophobic surface with nanotubes thermal insulating blanket for anti-icing and anti-frosting under weak light illumination

Accumulation of ice and frost poses a substantial threat to the safe and efficient operation of transportation and energy infrastructures, such as aircraft, vessels, and wind turbines. While photothermal superhydrophobic surfaces have emerged as a promising solution for anti- and de-icing, the high thermal conductivity of metal substrates leads to large heat losses that limits the thermal efficiency of photothermal surfaces. In addition, the hard and brittle micro-nanostructure is an important obstacle limiting the practical application of superhydrophobic surfaces. Herein, the flexible poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is employed to stabilize the rigid plasmonic titanium nitride (TiN) particles, and then a micro-hexagonal network structure containing fibers and knots is constructed on the surface of insulated titania nanotube layer by electrospinning. This photothermal superhydrophobic layer achieves a remarkable temperature increase of 75.3 °C under 1 Sun illumination, driven by high solar absorption, plasmon resonance, and enhanced thermal insulation. The surface exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity, enabling superior anti-icing and anti-frosting performance, even under reduced illumination (0.35 Sun). At −23 °C, the surface remains frost-free for up to 9 h and can melt ice within 300 s. This design offers significant potential for applications in transportation, energy systems, and other critical infrastructures.