Endogenous Ionic-Liquid-Infused Coatings by Phase Separation for Anti-Icing and Anti-Bacterial Applications

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces have received great attention in anti-adhesion applications, and ionic liquids are selected as the infiltrated liquid in recent research due to their non-volatility. Beyond the complicated steps, infiltrating the viscous ionic liquid within a porous structure is challenging during the conventional fabrication process. Herein, a facile method is proposed to fabricate polyurethane-based slippery ionic-liquid-infused coatings in one step through a phase separation process. The solid structure grows from the ionic liquid through a liquid–liquid phases separation process. The coatings perform excellent anti-bacterial and anti-icing properties owing to the biocide nature, lubricity, and low freezing point of ionic liquids.