Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Material with Nafion Polymer for Anti-Icing Coating on Aluminium Alloy Surface

Aircraft icing is the formation and accumulation of ice on an aircraft’s windward surface. The impingement of super-cooled water droplets floating in clouds against a solid surface is the primary cause. Because it affects the aerodynamic form and poses a rising hazard to flight safety. This research gives a technique to overcome the ice accretion problemby preparation of Superhydrophobic coatings that can be utilized in aircraft. To create superhydrophobic surfaces, scientists have used many surface-modified functional coating methods based on perfluorinated polymer mixed with biomaterials. Herein, a plant leaf extract (Senna auriculata (Avaram in Tamil) which possesses good self-cleaning properties and better water-repellant properties like a lotus leaf, and exhibits several industrial applications such as anti-corrosive, anti-fogging, and anti-icing. The dried leaf extract is blend with Nafion polymer in ethanol and the as-prepared mixture coated on the polished surface of the aluminum alloy plate by using spray coating technique. The modified aluminum alloy (AA6061) plate surface was characterized with the help of a metallurgical microscope in different magnifications, scanning electron microscope and the measured contact angle (θ → 153°) is in good agreement with the superhydrophobicity requirements. High-speed optical microscopy helped to identify steady coalescence-induced droplet jumping during atmospheric water vapor condensation. This experimental result provides a new avenue for the environmentally benign fabrication of superhydrophobic metal-modified surfaces for various automotive applications.