Fabrication and anti-icing property of coral-like superhydrophobic aluminum surface

Aluminum is one of the most widely used metals in transmission lines. Accumulation of ice on aluminum may cause serious consequences such as tower collapse and power failure. Here we develop a method to fabricate a coral-like superhydrophobic surface to improve its anti-icing performance via chemical etching and hot-water treatment. The as-prepared surface exhibited superhydrophobicity with a contact angle (CA) of 164.8 ± 1.1° and the sliding angle smaller than 1°. The static and dynamic anti-icing behaviors of the superhydrophobic surface in different conditions were systematically investigated using a self-made device and artificial climate laboratory. Results show that the coral-like superhydrophobic structure displayed excellent anti-icing property. The water droplet remained unfrozen on the as-prepared surface at −6 °C for over 110 min. 71% of the surface was free of ice when exposed in “glaze ice” for 30 min. This investigation proposed a new way to design an anti-icing surface which may have potential future applications in transmission lines against ice accumulation.