关键词: 防冰/除冰, 超疏水表面, 光热转换, 相变材料, 复合表面

Abstract: Aircraft icing poses a critical threat to flight safety, underscoring the need for advanced high-efficiency and energy-efficient anti-/de-icing technologies to ensure safe and reliable operation of aircraft under complex meteorological conditions. Traditional active anti-/de-icing methods are often limited by high energy consumption and reliance on external power sources, while single-function passive icephobic surfaces tend to fail in low-temperature, high-humidity environments. To address these challenges, this study presents the design and fabrication of multifunctional composite surfaces integrating photothermal response, phase-change thermal storage, and superhydrophobicity. Two photothermal superhydrophobic coatings were constructed on the composite phase-change substrate by displacement deposition and one-step spraying, respectively. Under solar irradiation, the surfaces rapidly heat up, enabling ice droplets to roll off the inclined surfaces before complete melting, thereby achieving efficient self-de-icing. The surfaces maintain stable superhydrophobicity even at low temperatures, significantly delaying droplet freezing. By embedding a copper foam-reinforced n-dodecane phase-change cavity, the inherent limitations of low thermal conductivity and non-uniform heat transfer in conventional phase-change materials are effectively overcome. This design extends the active temperature control duration to over 1000 s under dark conditions, greatly improving anti-icing reliability in intermittent illumination scenarios. Through systematic analysis of the heat transfer processes during the full droplet freezing–melting cycle, the synergistic mechanisms of photothermal conversion, superhydrophobicity, and phase-change thermal storage across different stages of anti-icing and de-icing are elucidated. This work provides both theoretical support and a technical roadmap for developing new-generation durable, energy-efficient anti-/de-icing surfaces for aerospace applications.

Key words: de-icing/anti-icing, superhydrophobic surfaces, solar photothermal effect, phase change materials, composite surfaces