Enhanced anti-icing performance via bio-inspired papaver radicatum structuring

To avoid the disaster of ice accumulation on outdoor equipment, the construction of photothermal anti-icing surfaces is an efficient approach. Inspired by unique light trapping and photothermal properties of Papaver radicatum growing in latitude 83°40’ N, this work proposes an anti-icing surface with high-efficient photothermal trap capacity and super-hydrophobicity on TC4 via laser processing. The bio-inspired structure shows light harvesting with over 94% absorption in the visible spectrum mainly based on minimizing reflection inside constructed petals-like and rough epidermal micro-structures. With such excellent photothermal behaviors and super-hydrophobicity, the as-prepared sample endows faster temperature rise and higher temperature difference above 15 °C under 1 × 105 Lux simulated Sun luminance. The bio-inspired P. radicatum surface exhibits a strong capacity of anti-icing by inhibiting the nucleation and growth of ice crystals at −30 °C. Meanwhile, this proposed structure can effectively delay the formation of frost under sunlight. The structure shows potential applications on field equipment for enhanced photothermal anti-icing property.