Formation, adhesion, and accumulation of ice, snow, frost, glaze, rime, or their mixtures can cause severe problems for solar panels, wind turbines, aircrafts, heat pumps, power lines, telecommunication equipment, and submarines. These problems can decrease efficiency in power generation, increase energy consumption, result in mechanical and/or electrical failure, and generate safety hazards. To address these issues, the fundamentals of interfaces between liquids and surfaces at low temperatures have been extensively studied. This has lead to development of so called “icephobic” surfaces, which possess a number of overlapping, yet distinctive, characteristics from superhydrophobic surfaces. Less attention has been given to distinguishing differences between formation and adhesion of ice, snow, glaze, rime, and frost or to developing a clear definition for icephobic, or more correctly pagophobic, surfaces. In this review, we strive to clarify these differences and distinctions, while providing a comprehensive definition of icephobicity. We classify different canonical families of icephobic (pagophobic) surfaces providing a review of those with potential for scalable and robust development.

Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) of tungsten selenide films on glass substrates was achieved by reaction of diethyl selenide with WCl₆ at 500–650 °C. X-Ray diffraction showed that the WSe₂ films were crystalline with cell constants close to those expected—some preferred orientation was noted at higher deposition temperature. Energy-dispersive analysis by X-rays (EDAX) gave a W ∶ Se ratio close to 1 ∶ 2 for all the films formed at 550 °C. The films were matt black in appearance, were adhesive, passed the Scotch tape test but could be scratched with a steel scalpel. SEM showed that the films were composed of either plate or needle like crystals which become longer and thicker with increasing deposition temperature. The films were highly hydrophobic with contact angles for water droplets in the range of 135–145°. Furthermore these surfaces were highly adherent for water droplets—that did not roll or slide even at a tilt angle of 90°.

Transparent anti-fogging and self-cleaning coatings are of great interest for many applications, including solar panels, windshields and displays or lenses to be used in humid environments. In this paper, we report on the simultaneous synthesis, at atmospheric pressure, of anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles and low-temperature, high-rate deposition of anatase TiO₂/SiO₂ nanocomposite coatings. These coatings exhibit durable super-hydrophilic and photocatalytic properties. The strategy followed relies on concomitant and separated injections of titania, i.e. titanium isopropoxide, and silica, i.e. hexamethyldisiloxane, precursors in the stream of a blown-arc discharge to form transparent anti-fogging and self-cleaning anatase TiO₂/SiO₂ nanocomposite coatings on polymer substrates.