Ecofriendly, Scalable, and Durable Synergistic Anti-Icing andPhoto/Electrical Deicing Stainless Steel-Based Hydrophobic Compo-site Inspired by Cicada Wing for Marine Vessel and the Process Intensification
Di Zhang, Chuandian Zhang, Yang Xin, Wen Li, Zhixiong HanAbstract
Ice formation is an inevitable natural process, where the accumulated icing often causes severe detrimental impacts, driving urgent development for an efficient anti-icing and deicing strategy. Inspired by the hierarchical hydrophobic micro/nanoarchitecture of the cicada wing, the fluorine-free multifunctional stainless-steel-based composite was manufactured by means of facile laser ablation and spraying of graphene and polydimethylsiloxane, integrating passive anti-icing functionality with photo/electrothermal active deicing capacity. It revealed that the obtained composite delivered a water contact angle of 147°, a low ice adhesion force of 1.26 N, and a water-freezing delay time of 1523 s. Under 1.8 sun illumination, this composite stabilized at 54 °C, completely eliminating the ice droplets and ice layers within 119 s and 453 s under 1.0 sun intensity, respectively. Upon an applied voltage of only 1.8 V, the composite peaked at 87 °C, and full removal of ice droplets and the ice layer was accomplished in 112 s and 315 s at 1.2 V, respectively. This composite retained stable hydrophobicity and photo/electrothermal conversion performance after 20 freeze-thaw cycles, ultraviolet exposure, tape-peeling tests, sandpaper abrasion tests, and artificial seawater immersion, alongside robust self-cleaning ability. COMSOL Multiphysics numerical simulations closely recapitulated the experimental observations, verifying that the biomimetic structure together with surface modification weakened the interaction between the ice and the composite, which facilitated the anti-icing/deicing process intensification. With facile and eco-friendly fabrication and superior durability, this bioinspired composite holds promising practical utility for full-time icing protection of marine vessels and diverse outdoor stainless-steel engineering components.