Facile fabrication of slippery lubricant-infused porous surface with pressure responsive property for anti-icing application

In this research, a facile template method was developed to prepare the slippery lubricant-infused porous surface (SLIPS). The porous framework consisted of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and softener, and inert dimethyl silicone oil was filled into the pores as the lubricant. Under small external pressure, the sample could be easily compressed, resulting in silicone oil being extruded to the sample surface to improve the surface lubricity. In the absence of pressure, the silicone oil was stored inside the SLIPS. This pressure responsive property avoided long-term exposure and rapid loss of lubricant. By adjusting the content of softener, the pressure responsive property was tuned. When the mass ratio of PDMS to softener increased to 1:1, the extrusion amount of lubricant enhanced significantly and the water sliding angle decreased to approximately 20°, showing good lubricity. This sample exhibited low ice adhesion strength and excellent anti-icing durability. After 25 cycles of icing/deicing tests, the ice adhesion strength was still less than 20 kPa, and the loss ratio of lubricant was only approximately 15%.