Durable Superelliptical Topological Superhydrophobic Surfaces With Tolerance to Extreme Conditions for High‐Performance Anti‐Icing

ABSTRACT

Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) show great promise for anti‐icing by repelling supercooled water, delaying ice nucleation, and reducing ice adhesion, yet their practical applications are limited by poor durability under extreme conditions. Here, we present a multiscale stiff–soft integrated strategy that combines superelliptical topological (SET) microstructures with an intrinsically superhydrophobic nanocomposites to create superelliptical topological SHSs (SET‐SHSs) with exceptional robustness and stable water repellency. SET‐SHSs are capable of withstanding severe extreme conditions, including prolonged mechanical abrasion (12.25 kPa, 16 m), UV aging (>300 h), cryogenic (−196°C, >300 h) and high‐temperature (350°C, >20 h), and violent rainstorms (Beaufort scale 11). Moreover, SET‐SHSs exhibit outstanding anti‐icing performance at −20°C, with a superior icing delay ratio of 24.7 compared to other SHSs. Under quasi‐steady cooling (−0.90°C min ⁻¹ ), the static icing delay time was as high as 881 s, owing to a low solid−liquid contact fraction (∼10%) and a reduced ice nucleation temperature (−13.9°C). Moreover, effective ice protection was maintained in an ice wind tunnel (10 m s ⁻¹ , −10°C) under a low applied heat flux density of 0.7 W cm ⁻² . This strategy provides a general approach for designing robust and durable SHSs for applications in extreme environments.