Superhydrophobic coatings on iodine doped substrate with photothermal deicing and passive anti-icing properties

Abstract Passive anti-icing and active deicing have been combined to improve the anti-icing performance of substrate surface in recent years. Some researchers have prepared active deicing coatings by inducing particles with photothermal or magnetic thermal properties. However, the thermogenesis of these coatings can weaken due to loss of particles. In this work, we first take advantage of the photothermal properties of iodine in deicing process, using polymer substrate doped with iodine by heating to endow the substrate with a photothermal property. Superhydrophobic SiO2/SiC coatings with passive anti-icing properties were fabricated on the iodine-doped substrate by a simple spray coating method. The prepared surface of samples can warm up to melt the ice under the irradiation of near infrared light and possesses excellent water repellency with a contact angle up to 162°. The results of 3D profile and microstructure observed via scanning electron microscopy demonstrate that the coatings combined with microscale SiC and nanoscale SiO2 form voids that can capture air pockets. The photothermal effect of substrate-iodine was demonstrated as the surface temperature of the coatings rapidly increased to about 200 °C upon 10 s of irradiation. The concept of harnessing the iodine doping substrate to achieve superior photothermal performances in deicing might shed new light on the development of anti-icing materials for various applications.