Yang Chen, Guo Zhiguang
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China.
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Small. 2025 Jul;21(26):e2500016. doi: 10.1002/smll.202500016. Epub 2025 May 7.
Superhydrophobic surfaces are susceptible to structural deformation and damage during use, which significantly impacts their long-term stability and performance in anti-/de-icing applications. To address this challenge, a biomimetic superhydrophobic polyurethane film inspired by Xanthium strumarium (PBXS) is proposed. This film not only delivers efficient anti-/de-icing performance but also demonstrates exceptional long-term durability. Even when the surface structure undergoes deformation or complete fracture, it can quickly self-heal under near-infrared light, restoring its original properties. The results show that, due to the superhydrophobic micron spine array and photothermal effect, PBXS can delay droplet freezing at low temperatures (-10 °C, 2052 s) and enable rapid de-icing (1 sun, 187 s). Moreover, by incorporating the shape-memory properties of thermoplastic polyurethane and self-healing capability, PBXS effectively addresses issues related to surface deformation (after ten deformation-healing cycles, PBXS maintains a water contact angle of 157 ± 1° and a rolling angle of 15.4 ± 1°) and material rupture (after ten fracture-healing cycles, PBXS retains a water contact angle of 152 ± 1° and a rolling angle of 16.1 ± 1°). This innovative approach enhances the long-term performance of anti-/de-icing films and shows significant potential for applications in road transportation, power transmission lines, and other anti-/de-icing fields.
超疏水表面在使用过程中容易发生结构变形和损坏，这严重影响了它们在防冰/除冰应用中的长期稳定性和性能。为应对这一挑战，提出了一种受苍耳启发的仿生超疏水聚氨酯薄膜（PBXS）。这种薄膜不仅具有高效的防冰/除冰性能，还具有出色的长期耐久性。即使表面结构发生变形或完全断裂，它也能在近红外光下迅速自愈，恢复其原始性能。结果表明，由于超疏水微米级刺状阵列和光热效应，PBXS能够在低温下（-10°C，2052秒）延迟水滴冻结，并实现快速除冰（1个太阳光照强度，187秒）。此外，通过结合热塑性聚氨酯的形状记忆特性和自愈能力，PBXS有效地解决了与表面变形（经过十次变形-自愈循环后，PBXS保持水接触角为157±1°，滚动角为15.4±1°）和材料破裂（经过十次断裂-自愈循环后，PBXS保持水接触角为152±1°，滚动角为16.1±1°）相关的问题。这种创新方法提高了防冰/除冰薄膜的长期性能，并在道路运输、输电线路和其他防冰/除冰领域显示出巨大的应用潜力。
