Study on automatic anti-icing effect and rheological properties of asphalt based on SiO2 nanowires

This study addresses the issue of severe traffic disruptions caused by winter road icing by enhancing traffic disaster resilience. A primary road-surface ice-control technique, known as "anti-icing", is proposed. A nanomaterial with outstanding superhydrophobic properties was prepared and incorporated into asphalt to create hydrophobic ice-inhibiting modified asphalt. Extensive experimentation confirmed that the hydrophobic ice-inhibiting modified asphalt had desirable characteristics, achieving impressive anti-icing performance. The experimental results indicated that the synthesised material was superhydrophobic, with a contact angle exceeding 150° and its primary component being SiO2. At the microscopic level, the synthesised superhydrophobic material exhibited a complex microstructure, primarily characterised by entangled nanowires and a small quantity of nanoparticles. In addition, the material demonstrated stable thermal properties and good compatibility with asphalt. The superhydrophobic material significantly enhanced the hydrophobic properties of asphalt, and the prepared asphalt mixture effectively inhibited the formation of surface ice layers, consequently reducing the surface ice accumulation and ice formation efficiency by 69.11% and 19.01%, respectively, for the asphalt containing 15% superhydrophobic material relative to the base asphalt. In conclusion, the superhydrophobic material prepared in this study enhances the performance of asphalt while imparting de-icing functionality, making it a novel road surface "anti-icing" material that improves winter traffic resilience.