Superhydrophobic surfaces with flake-like structures and lubricant-infused composite surfaces to enhance anti-icing ability

We prepared superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS) with various morphologies on 7075 aluminum, demonstrating that the SHS with small nanoscale asperities of ~80 nm yielded the lowest ice adhesion forces of ~80 kPa, due to the lubricating effect of the overcooled water, and the ice menisci caused by the high surface roughness deteriorated the surface’s icephobicity. To overcome this, slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) were prepared, only to find that the removal ability of water on SLIPS was not sufficient to represent its anti-icing ability, and the ice-adhesion force on SLIPS exhibited a negative correlation with the surface roughness.