Phase-change materials in anti icing applications
A novel hybrid anti-icing surface combines an aqueous self-lubricating coating and phase-change materials that release a large amount of energy as latent heat.
The ability of phase change materials (PCMs) to absorb and release large amounts of latent heat has led to great interest in their use in anti-icing applications. Combining PCMs and other passive icephobic strategies such as self-lubricating coatings could enhance anti-icing performance. Now, an icephobic coating was fabricated by impregnating an elastomeric matrix containing PEG-PDMS copolymers with PCM microcapsules.
Reducing ice adhesion
Various concentrations of microcapsules were added into the self-lubricated PDMS coating and 2.5 wt% of hydroxyl-terminated PEG-PDMS copolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry confirms that the PCM-embedded coating has colder ice nucleation temperatures than the self-lubricating coatings lacking microcapsules. The release of latent heat by the PCMs likely preserves the liquid-like layer for a more extended time and delays ice nucleation. Accordingly, the presence of PCM microcapsules can positively affect self-lubricating characteristics of the matrix containing the PEG-PDMS copolymer to further reducing ice adhesion as the presence of a liquid-like layer lowers ice adhesion strength and decreases ice accumulation on surfaces.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 177, April 2023.
