A superhydrophobic Fe3O4/PEI nanocomposite film with active activation function for anti-icing/deicing applications

The formation and accumulation of ice can cause serious accidents and economic losses. In order to eliminate the threat of ice accretion, superhydrophobic surfaces are widely used in the design of anti-/deicing materials. However, single-function superhydrophobic anti-icing films cannot meet the anti-/deicing requirements in complex cold environments. Here, a new design of smart anti-icing film coupled with active deicing function is demonstrated. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles with excellent photothermal conversion effect are dispersed in the polyetherimide (PEI) substrate with good thermodynamic performance, then the superhydrophobic microstructure is built on the modified PEI film surface by lithography. The experimental results show that such surface design can not only improve the hydrophobicity, but also trap air in the coordination structure to reduce the heat loss at the interface. The contact angle of surface droplets is as high as 157°, and the delayed freezing time is 9 times that of the pure PEI surface. After activating the photothermal mode, the ice on film surface can completely melt in an average of 17 s, then the tested sample is still stable after soaking in strong acid/alkali solution and sand flow impact test. The film can be used in many fields such as communication, power and aerospace. Also, this design idea has certain enlightenment for the preparation and application of intelligent anti-/deicing film.