Modeling nanoscale ice adhesion

Anti-icing is crucial for numerous instruments and devices in low temperature circumstance. One of the approaches in anti-icing is to reduce ice adhesion strength, seeking spontaneous de-icing processes by natural forces of gravity or by winds. In order to enable tailored surface icephobicity design, research requires a good theoretical understanding of the atomistic interacting mechanisms between water/ice molecules and their adhering substrates. Herein, this work focuses on using atomistic modeling and molecular dynamics simulation to build a nanosized ice-cube adhering onto silicon surface, with different contact modes of solid-solid and solid-liquid-solid patterns. This study provides atomistic models for probing nanoscale ice adhesion mechanics and theoretical platforms for explaining experimental results.