Passive Anti-Icing and Active Electrothermal Deicing System Based on an Ultraflexible Carbon Nanowire (CNW)/PDMS Biomimetic Nanocomposite with a Superhydrophobic Microcolumn Surface

The icephobicity property of multifunctional surfaces has been widely studied due to their potential application in the aerospace field. Herein, a controllable CNW/PDMS biomimetic nanocomposite film with a superhydrophobic surface is fabricated. The microcolumns are etched on the surface of the biomimetic nanocomposite to provide superhydrophobicity. Two defense strategies of biomimetic nanocomposites are proposed while passive anti-icing and active electrothermal deicing behaviors of the biomimetic nanocomposite are experimentally studied. It is found that the initial nucleation time of a single water droplet is delayed by 353.3 s on the superhydrophobic surface relative to the hydrophilic surface. The adhesion strength increases with the increase of surface roughness. The heating uniformity on the biomimetic nanocomposite surface was validated by infrared thermography technology. The ice layer is completely melted within 150 s under 40 V voltage captured by a noncontact infrared camera. The proposed strategy was validated by the characterization of the passive anti-icing and active electrothermal deicing property from biomimetic nanocomposites with superhydrophobic microstructure surfaces. Research results show that the two lines of defense collaborative work for an icephobicity system were able to keep biomimetic nanocomposite surfaces ice-free under test conditions.