| Title: | Durability and Degradation Mechanisms of Antifrosting Surfaces |
| Author(s): | Hoque MJ; Yan X; Qiu H; Qin Y; Du X; Stermer J; Miljkovic N; |
| Address: | "Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States. Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States. International Institute for Carbon Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan" |
| Journal Title: | ACS Appl Mater Interfaces |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1944-8252 (Electronic) 1944-8244 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Rapid implementation of renewable energy technologies has exacerbated the potential for economic loss and safety concerns caused by ice and frost accretion, which occurs on the surfaces of wind turbine blades, photovoltaic panels, and residential and electric vehicle air-source heat pumps. The past decade has seen advances in surface chemistry and micro- and nanostructures that can promote passive antifrosting and enhance defrosting. However, the durability of these surfaces remains the major obstacle preventing real-life applications, with degradation mechanisms remaining poorly understood. Here, we conducted durability tests on antifrosting surfaces, including superhydrophobic, hydrophobic, superhydrophilic, and slippery liquid-infused surfaces. For superhydrophobic surfaces, we demonstrate durability with progressive degradation for up to 1000 cycles of atmospheric frosting-defrosting and month-long outdoor exposure tests. We show that progressive degradation, as reflected by increased condensate retention and reduced droplet shedding, results from molecular-level degradation of the low-surface-energy self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The degradation of the SAM leads to local high-surface-energy defects, which further deteriorate the surface by promoting accumulation of atmospheric particulate matter during cyclic condensation, frosting, and melt drying. Furthermore, cyclic frosting and defrost tests demonstrate the durability and degradation mechanisms of other surfaces to show, for example, the loss of water affinity of superhydrophilic surfaces after 22 days due to atmospheric volatile organic compound (VOC) adsorption and significant lubricant drainage for lubricant-infused surfaces after 100 cycles. Our work reveals the degradation mechanism of functional surfaces during exposure to long-term frost-defrost cycling and elucidates guidelines for the development of future surfaces for real-life antifrosting/icing applications" |
| Keywords: | coating cycles durable dust frost-defrost functional structured superhydrophobic; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEHoque, Muhammad Jahidul Yan, Xiao Qiu, Haoyun Qin, Yimeng Du, Xuzhi Stermer, Jackson Miljkovic, Nenad eng 2023/03/03 ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Mar 15; 15(10):13711-13723. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c21928. Epub 2023 Mar 2" |
