Design and performance study of superhydrophobic low-adhesion anti-icing coating with photothermal response

Superhydrophobic coatings have attracted significant attention for their potential in anti-icing applications. However, their practical application is often hampered by inherent limitations, such as mechanical durability and insufficient de-icing performance. In this study, a functional filler (ODA/MnO₂@PDA-SiO₂, OMPS) is synthesized by simple grafting and redox reaction, and a robust superhydrophobic low-adhesion anti-icing coating (OMPS-PDMS/E51) is prepared through spraying. The OMPS-PDMS/E51 coating surface shows a uniformly distributed concave-convex structure with a roughness value of 33.209 μm. This fine micro-nano structure makes the water contact angle of the coating surface as high as 157.1° and the rolling angle as low as 4.6°, indicating that the coating has excellent superhydrophobicity. Meanwhile, the coating surface is in a low water adhesion Cassie-Baxter state, so it has good antifouling and self-cleaning properties. Additionally, Cassie-Baxter wetting mode can minimize the contact between the coating and water, thereby inhibiting the formation and anchoring of ice core, so the freezing delay time of the OMPS-PDMS/E51 coating is up to 358 s and the ice adhesion strength is as low as 26.3 KPa. Notably, the OMPS-PDMS/E51 coating also exhibits the characteristics of active de-icing, which can rapidly heat up the coating surface through photothermal conversion, such as its surface temperature can reach 82.9 °C after infrared irradiation for 400 s, and the ice formed at −20 °C on the coating can melt within 144 s. These properties highlight the OMPS-PDMS/E51 coating's potential for long-term anti-icing and de-icing applications in harsh environments.