In this work, we proposed a facile approach to fabricate a superhydrophobic surface for anti-icing performance in terms of adhesive strength and freezing time. A hierarchical structure was generated on as-received Al plates using a wet etching method and followed with a low energy chemical compound coating. Surfaces after treatment exhibited the great water repellent properties with a high contact angle and extremely low sliding angle. An anti-icing investigation was carried out by using a custom-built apparatus and demonstrated the expected low adhesion and freezing time for icephobic applications. In addition, we proposed a model for calculating the freezing time. The experimented results were compared with theoretical calculation and demonstrated the good agreement, illustrating the importance of theoretical contribution in design icephobic surfaces. Therefore, this study provides a guideline for the understanding of icing phenomena and designing of icephobic surfaces.

The effects of topology parameters at micro-scale on anti-icing performance have not been investigated theoretically and clearly. In this work, we figured out the affection of structure parameters and derived quantities to anti-icing performance in terms of adhesive strength. Well-textured silicon microstructure with different topologies and surface energies was generated via the lithography process. The parameters including pillar height, top diameter, and spacing were simultaneously investigated through the transition energy barrier approach. The results demonstrated the integrated contribution of all parameters in anti-icing performance, instead of independent effects. Furthermore, our results disclosed the correlation contribution of edge and top effects in adhesion strength. This insight should lead to an understanding of icing phenomena and the design of icephobic surfaces.

In this work, we investigated the correlation between interfacial parameters with anti-icing performance in terms of adhesive strength. Samples with different morphologies and surface energies ranging from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic were evaluated in relationship with contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, water – glass work of adhesion and ice-glass work of adhesion. Superhydrophobic surfaces with well-textured nanopillars were fabricated via dry etching process following by low-energy chemical compound coating. In addition, flat quartz substrates with low wetting states achieved through UVO expose method were also examined. The results demonstrated the relationship between interfacial parameters and anti-icing performance with important considerations on surface coating material and wetting state. This insight should lead to an understanding of icing phenomena and the design of icephobic surfaces.

In this study, we emphasised the anti-icing effects of the two-scale structure fabricated on Ecoflex thin film in several criteria for icephobic applications. The functional thin film was achieved by combining the low surface tension lubricant with a hierarchical structure, which was generated by the dry ion etching method. The anti-icing performance including adhesion strength, ice repellency, and durability was then compared with as-received substrate and non-slippery surface to demonstrate the superiority of two-scale texture in all mentioned criteria. The slippery hierarchical thin film exhibited outstanding performance with extremely low ice-surface adhesion strength, high ice repellency, and durability. This offers a new facile approach and proposed a unique design for icephobic applications such as wild shields, smart devices, cooling systems, and other outdoor equipment

This study uses a hybrid concept to propose an optimal textured surface morphology for enhancing water condensation. The natural phenomenon-inspired morphology, which combined different degrees of wettability presented on the surface, documented their advantage in water harvesting compared to untreated surfaces. These superiorities might be explained by the appropriate combination of nucleation and water-driven ability facilitated by the superhydrophobic surrounding area. The uniform condensed droplets are effectively agglomerated to achieve the critical size. The best combination was found on a superhydrophobic-hydrophilic hybrid sample that improved water collection efficiency by up to 50% compared to bare Al. Condensation performance also illustrated an interesting tendency that revealed the great contribution of wettability on hydrophilic dots and the water-driven ability of the high-hydrophobicity area. The results were supported by a theoretical model which predicts the critical volume of a single droplet before it has departed from the surface. The findings reveal a good level of agreement between theory and real-time measurement, demonstrating the potential of combinations of hybrid samples to induce water collection efficiency.