Issue 7, 2016

Durable and scalable icephobic surfaces: similarities and distinctions from superhydrophobic surfaces

Abstract

Formation, adhesion, and accumulation of ice, snow, frost, glaze, rime, or their mixtures can cause severe problems for solar panels, wind turbines, aircrafts, heat pumps, power lines, telecommunication equipment, and submarines. These problems can decrease efficiency in power generation, increase energy consumption, result in mechanical and/or electrical failure, and generate safety hazards. To address these issues, the fundamentals of interfaces between liquids and surfaces at low temperatures have been extensively studied. This has lead to development of so called “icephobic” surfaces, which possess a number of overlapping, yet distinctive, characteristics from superhydrophobic surfaces. Less attention has been given to distinguishing differences between formation and adhesion of ice, snow, glaze, rime, and frost or to developing a clear definition for icephobic, or more correctly pagophobic, surfaces. In this review, we strive to clarify these differences and distinctions, while providing a comprehensive definition of icephobicity. We classify different canonical families of icephobic (pagophobic) surfaces providing a review of those with potential for scalable and robust development.

Graphical abstract: Durable and scalable icephobic surfaces: similarities and distinctions from superhydrophobic surfaces

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
10 Sep 2015
Accepted
30 Nov 2015
First published
30 Nov 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Soft Matter, 2016,12, 1938-1963

Author version available

Durable and scalable icephobic surfaces: similarities and distinctions from superhydrophobic surfaces

H. Sojoudi, M. Wang, N. D. Boscher, G. H. McKinley and K. K. Gleason, Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 1938 DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02295A

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