Colorful Halloysite Clay Superhydrophobic Coating with Enhanced Photothermal Performance for Deicing Application

Development of effective anti-icing/deicing strategy is of technical importance, as the natural phenomenon of icing has raised many problems for human social production as well as industrial activities. In this study, a superhydrophobic and colored surface (AC/POS@HNTs) with excellent photothermal deicing properties was designed by combining silane-modified halloysite nanotubes (POS@HNTs) and emerald-green acrylic dye (AC) as photothermal materials. Compared with traditional black photothermal materials, AC/POS@HNTs achieve better photothermal conversion efficiency. The modified HNTs powder was coated on different substrates by double-sided tape, which displays remarkable hydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of up to 154° and a rolling angle of 4°. Moreover, the superhydrophobic HNTs coated surface exhibits excellent photothermal characteristics, attaining an equilibrium temperature of 106.3 °C within 20 s under an intensity of 1 W/cm² of 808 nm laser light. Additionally, the temperature of the green hydrophobic surface can reach 55 °C under one solar intensity. This results in a significant increase in the deicing rate (16.91%/min) compared to the control group (14.14%/min) and extends the anti-icing time from 71 to 245 s. This work presents a nonblack photothermal composite using hydrophobic modified HNTs and emerald-green acrylic dye, offering promising applications in aviation, roadways, and infrastructure as anti-icing/deicing materials.