Innovative ice mitigation: Exploring the potential of choline-based deep eutectic solvents and ionic liquids synergies

• Choline-based IL harbouring hydrophobic anion in coating exhibited superior hydrogen-bond donor ability to water. • Switching from EG to GL in DESs increased hydrogen-bonding sites, boosting anti-icing properties. • Coating containing GL-based DES reduced ice formation temperature to −36 °C and adhesion strength to 10 kPa. • Solid-state NMR validated the presence of QLL, contributing to ultra-low ice adhesion. • DESs in coatings altered frost patterns, enhancing durability against frost formation. The development of anti-icing coatings for extremely low temperatures is still emerging. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), as subset of ionic liquid (IL) analogues, have recently gained increasing attention for their unique and versatile applications. Given no investigation regarding anti-icing capabilities of DESs, our study focused on the exciting potential of choline-based DESs. The intriguing potential of hydrogen bonding through the synergistic combination of DESs and ILs offers significant promise for innovative solutions to ice-related challenges that remain largely unexplored. We conducted a comprehensive study on the anti-freezing properties of DESs by synthesizing choline-based ILs featuring both hydrophilic and hydrophobic anions. We aimed to explore how the diverse hydrogen-bond donors in DESs combined with the synthesized ILs to enhance the system’s ability to prevent ice formation. Substituting ethylene glycol (EG) with glycerol (GL) resulted in achieving an ice formation temperature of − 36 °C and an exceptionally low ice adhesion strength of 10 kPa, due to a thicker quasi-liquid layer on the coating surface, confirmed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The altered frost formation patterns of the DES-containing coatings demonstrated an enhance resistance against frost formation. This comprehensive study underscored the promising synergy between DESs and ILs for highly effective ice mitigation.