Anti-Icing Superhydrophobic Surfaces: Controlling Entropic Molecular Interactions to Design Novel Icephobic Concrete

Tribology involves the study of friction, wear, lubrication, and adhesion, including biomimetic superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces. The three aspects of icephobicity are the low ice adhesion, repulsion of incoming water droplets prior to freezing, and delayed frost formation. Although superhydrophobic surfaces are not always icephobic, the theoretical mechanisms behind icephobicity are similar to the entropically driven hydrophobic interactions. The growth of ice crystals in saturated vapor is partially governed by entropically driven diffusion of water molecules to definite locations similarly to hydrophobic interactions. The ice crystal formation can be compared to protein folding controlled by hydrophobic forces. Surface topography and surface energy can affect both the icephobicity and hydrophobicity. By controlling these properties, micro/nanostructured icephobic concrete was developed. The concrete showed ice adhesion strength one order of magnitude lower than regular concrete and could repel incoming water droplets at -5 °C. The icephobic performance of the concrete can be optimized by controlling the sand and polyvinyl alcohol fiber content.