Preparation of photothermal superhydrophobic MoS2@PDMS-EP composite coating for efficient anti-icing and de-icing

Icing phenomena pose significant challenges to various industries, highlighting the critical need for effective anti-icing and de-icing solutions. Herein, a superhydrophobic photothermal composite, MoS 2 @PDMS-EP (PDMS denotes polydimethylsiloxane and EP represents epoxy resin), is designed for anti-icing and de-icing coatings. The coating, with a surface contact angle of 152.5° and a minimal sliding angle of 7.0°, demonstrates remarkable superhydrophobicity. Under -15 °C, the coating could delay ice formation for 13907 seconds, 143 times longer than the bare Al-substrate. The synthesized MoS 2 provides full-spectrum absorption, allowing the coating to rapidly warm up to a maximum temperature of 75.0 °C within 100 seconds under irradiation. Even at a -20 °C, the frozen coating could begin defrosting within one minute and completely melted within three minutes, achieving a maximum surface temperature of 11.1 °C due to the photothermal effect. Durability testing indicates that the coating maintains stable anti-icing effects under acidic conditions (pH 1-7), showing great potential for application in acidic outdoor environment. This study highlights a superhydrophobic MoS 2 @PDMS-EP coating with excellent anti-icing and photothermal ice-melting properties, offering a promising solution to de-icing and anti-icing problems.