Photothermal materials with energy-storage properties provide an energy-saving design for highly efficient anti-icing/deicing applications

All-weather, high-efficiency solar photothermal anti-icing/deicing systems are of great importance for solving the problem of ice accumulation on outdoor equipment surfaces. In this study, a photothermal phase change material with a micro-porous structure (MP@PPCM) is prepared via salt-template and melt-blending methods. Owing to the synergistic effect of the latent heat released from the phase change material and the thermal-insulation effect of the internal micro-porous structure, MP@PPCM exhibits a low cooling rate and a high equilibrium temperature during the cooling process. In addition, MP@PPCM exhibits excellent photothermal conversion performance under light illumination, providing the basis for highly efficient anti-icing/deicing. Notably, the single droplet icing and melting results show that the droplet has the longest icing delay time and the shortest melting time on the MP@PPCM sample compared to that on the other samples analyzed. Furthermore, day–night alternation, multiple freezing–melting, and chemical stability tests verify the outdoor applications potential of MP@PPCM. The study results provide a way to prepare high-efficiency photothermal anti-icing/deicing materials in the absence of light conditions.