Near‐Infrared Light‐Responsive Lubricating Coating with Polyaniline Microspheres for Long‐Term Anti‐Icing and High‐Efficiency De‐Icing

Despite significant advances in anti-icing/de-icing coating in recent years, key issues such as lubricant leakage and high de-icing energy consumption still substantially restrict their long-term performance in cold environments. To address this, a long-lasting lubricating coating based on silicone oil-loaded polyaniline (PANI) microspheres is developed. Through innovative structural design and regulation, PANI microspheres achieved "three birds with one stone" effect: photothermal conversion, electrothermal conversion, and lubricating properties. Benefiting from the storage capacity and photothermal conversion of PANI microspheres, the coating could achieve the continuous release of the lubricant under near infrared (NIR) light irradiation, thereby promptly replenishing the lubricating layer. Even after multiple washing-NIR cycles, the coating still retained a low sliding angle (< 10°), highlighting its self-replenishing capability and enabling long-term lubrication. Furthermore, the presence of lubricants imparted long-term antifouling performance to the coating. Additionally, the photothermal and electrothermal conversion capabilities of PANI microspheres endowed the coating with highly efficient de-icing performance. Notably, the coating incorporating 20 wt.% PANI microspheres achieved rapid ice melting within just 7 s under the synergistic effect of NIR light and voltage. This work provided coatings with long-term anti-icing and high-efficiency deicing property, making it suitable for practical use in aerospace, transportation, power facilities, etc.