Enhanced anti-icing performance via bio-inspired papaver radicatum structuring

• Published in: Journal of Materials Research and Technology
• Main Authors: Zhekun Chen, Rui Zhou, Minghui Hong
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: Bio-inspired; Anti-icing; Super-hydrophobicity; Solar energy; Photothermal conversion; Mining engineering. Metallurgy; TN1-997; Papaver radicatum
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.02.035; https://doaj.org/article/56cc667697b64281b623bc4edcb98e11

To avoid the disaster of ice accumulation on outdoor equipment, the construction of photothermal anti-icing surfaces is an efficient approach. Inspired by unique light trapping and photothermal properties of Papaver radicatum growing in latitude 83°40’ N, this work proposes an anti-icing surface with high-efficient photothermal trap capacity and super-hydrophobicity on TC4 via laser processing. The bio-inspired structure shows light harvesting with over 94% absorption in the visible spectrum mainly based on minimizing reflection inside constructed petals-like and rough epidermal micro-structures. With such excellent photothermal behaviors and super-hydrophobicity, the as-prepared sample endows faster temperature rise and higher temperature difference above 15 °C under 1 × 105 Lux simulated Sun luminance. The bio-inspired P. radicatum surface exhibits a strong capacity of anti-icing by inhibiting the nucleation and growth of ice crystals at −30 °C. Meanwhile, this proposed structure can effectively delay the formation of frost under sunlight. The structure shows potential applications on field equipment for enhanced photothermal anti-icing property.