Re‐Entrant Super‐Repellent Metallic Structures for Robust Anti‐Icing
Daizhou Li, Lizhong Wang, Rui Peng, Ziyan Song, Zhao Liu, Zhixuan Chang, Hongjun Zhang, Peixun Fan, Minlin Zhong
Abstract
Superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit significant potential for anti-icing applications. However, sustaining the superhydrophobic Cassie-Baxter state under conditions of low temperature, high humidity, and dynamic impacts remains a critical challenge. Re-entrant structures, as a milestone advance in the study of super-repellent surfaces, not only render material surfaces the Cassie-Baxter state when contacting with liquids beyond water, but also raise a capability in keeping the super-repellent surfaces effective under broader environmental conditions. However, most studies on re-entrant super-repellent structures focus on their room-temperature performances. The water-repellent capabilities of re-entrant structures under low-temperature conditions and their anti-icing performances, in particular, are yet to be elucidated. Herein, re-entrant structures are designed and fabricated directly on metal surfaces, which exhibit remarkable anti-icing performances, including ultra-long icing delay (> 600 min), ultra-low ice adhesion strength (1.6 kPa), and significant durability (ice adhesion strength staying < 25 kPa after 100 deicing cycles). Through systematic characterizations and careful thermodynamic analysis, the underlying mechanisms for the remarkable anti-icing performances are revealed. This study not only validates the effectiveness of re-entrant structures under low-temperature conditions but also engineers the design and fabrication of re-entrant structures for excellent anti-icing performances, establishing a new paradigm for designing robust anti-icing surfaces.