Recent advances in photothermal anti-/de-icing materials

[Display omitted] •Photothermal anti-/de-icing coatings are summarized into five types of materials.•Enhancing anti-/de-icing efficiency strategies are systematically reviewed.•Solar selective absorbers in this field are systematically concluded.•Severe challenges in developing large-scale applications are thoroughly proposed. Photothermal anti-/de-icing materials (PA/DIMs) have attracted significant attention due to their potential in addressing surface ice formation. To date, improved durability and harsh environment performances of PA/DIMs have greatly hindered their development in industrial applications. This review summarizes recent advances and applications in PA/DIMs, including ‘photothermal + smooth liquid injection porous surface’ strategy, ‘photothermal + superhydrophobic’ strategy, ‘photothermal + electrothermal’ strategy, ‘photothermal + magnetothermal’ strategy, and ‘photothermal + phase change thermal’ strategy. Anti-/de-icing mechanisms and performance evaluation methods of PA/DIMs are summarized. In addition, progresses and prospect of novel PA/DIMs as promising approaches to enhance the mechanical and photothermal conversion properties are summarized, which provides a meaningful route for the effective large-scale applications. In all, further research is needed to optimize the performance durability of these coatings, as well as to develop cost-effective manufacturing methods for the large-scale applications in transportation, energy production, and aerospace. It is expected that this review will effectively complement the published comments on photothermal anti-/de-icing materials and provide more inspirations on large-scale applications of passive icephobic surfaces in the future.