Facile One-Step Method to Fabricate a Slippery Lubricant-Infused Surface (LIS) with Self-Replenishment Properties for Anti-Icing Applications

In this work, a slippery lubricant-infused surface (LIS) was prepared by simple one-step mixing of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) resin and dimethyl silicone oil (PMX-200) directly. Silicone oil showed good compatibility with PDMS resin, and the added amount of silicone oil had no significant effect on the surface morphology of LIS. According to the results of surface observations, once the silicone oil film anchored on the LIS was removed, the silicone oil inside the PDMS polymer automatically diffused to the surface and formed a new silicone oil film again in a short time. Furthermore, with the increase of silicone oil content, the oil self-replenishment speed and amount of the LIS were enhanced, which also promoted a decrease of the surface water sliding angle and the improvement of the lubrication ability of the LIS. In the icing/deicing cycle tests, the slippery LIS still maintained very low ice adhesion strength after 24 cycles, showing excellent anti-icing performance.