Materials science

Nanopillar

Nanostructure

Surface finish

Adhesion

Geology

Wetting

Nanotechnology

Surface energy

Oceanography

Icing

Contact angle

Composite material

Applied Surface Science

In this paper, we report the contributions of actual ice–substrate contact area and nanopillar height to passive anti-icing performance in terms of adhesion force and freezing time. Well-textured nanopillars with various parameters were fabricated via colloidal lithography and a dry etching process. The nanostructured quartz surface was coated with low-energy material to confer water-repellent properties. These superhydrophobic surfaces were investigated to determine the parameters essential for reducing adhesion strength and delaying freezing time. A well-textured surface with nanopillars of very small top diameter, regardless of height, could reduce adhesion force and delay freezing time in a subsequent de-icing process. Small top diameters of nanopillars also ensured the metastable Cassie–Baxter state based on energy barrier calculations. The results demonstrated the important role of areal fraction in anti-icing efficiency, and the negligible contribution of texture height. This insight into icing phenome...

Effects of morphology parameters on anti-icing performance in superhydrophobic surfaces