Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Metal Surfaces for Anti-Icing Applications

Summary

We illustrate several methodologies to produce superhydrophobic metal surfaces and to explore their durability and anti-icing properties.

Abstract

Several ways to produce superhydrophobic metal surfaces are presented in this work. Aluminum was chosen as the metal substrate due to its wide use in industry. The wettability of the produced surface was analyzed by bouncing drop experiments and the topography was analyzed by confocal microscopy. In addition, we show various methodologies to measure its durability and anti-icing properties. Superhydrophobic surfaces hold a special texture that must be preserved to keep their water-repellency. To fabricate durable surfaces, we followed two strategies to incorporate a resistant texture. The first strategy is a direct incorporation of roughness to the metal substrate by acid etching. After this surface texturization, the surface energy was decreased by silanization or fluoropolymer deposition. The second strategy is the growth of a ceria layer (after surface texturization) that should enhance the surface hardness and corrosion resistance. The surface energy was decreased with a stearic acid film.

The durability of the superhydrophobic surfaces was examined by a particle impact test, mechanical wear by lateral abrasion, and UV-ozone resistance. The anti-icing properties were explored by studying the ability to repeal subcooled water, freezing delay, and ice adhesion.

Introduction

The ability of superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces to repel water is the reason that they are traditionally proposed as a solution to prevent icing^1,2. However, there are concerns about the suitability of SH surfaces for anti-icing agents: 1) the high costs of production, 2) that superhydrophobicity does not always lead to ice-phobicity³, and 3) the questionable durability of the SH surfaces⁴. Superhydrophobic surfaces hold two properties related to their topography and chemical composition⁵: they are rough, with particular topographic features....

Protocol

Note: The protocol follows the scheme shown in Figure 2.

1. Sample Preparation

1. Cutting and cleaning
   1. Using a metal shear, cut 250 mm x 250 mm x 0.5 mm sheets of aluminum into 25 mm x 45 mm x 0.5 mm pieces.
      Note: Special care must be taken when using the metal shear, and special training may be necessary.
   2. Remove the protective film covering one side of the sample and wash this side using around 50 mL of cleaning solution. Wash the samples gently with gloved hands. Avoid the use of abrasive scourers.
   3. Rinse the samples abundantly in a flow of d....

Results

The wetting and roughness properties of the SH surfaces that were used in this study are shown in Figure 5. The average number of bounces measured for each sample is displayed in Figure 5a and the average roughness is shown in Figure 5b. There is no correlation between the roughness and wetting properties. The number of bounces measured for the polytetrafluoroethylene coated sample agrees with the Ce.......

Discussion

In this paper, we demonstrate strategies to produce water-repellent surfaces on aluminum substrates. In addition, we show methods to characterize their wetting properties, roughness, durability and anti-icing performance.

To prepare the SH surfaces, we used two strategies. The first strategy incorporated the proper roughness degree to achieve the intrinsic hierarchical structure of SH surfaces by acid etching. This process is particularly critical, which may require further work for other meta.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Hydrochloric acid, 37%	SICAL, S.A.	AC07411000	used for acid etching
1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane, 97%	Sigma-Aldrich	658758	used for silanization with FAS-17
Dupont AF1600	Dupont	D10389631	used for fluropolymer deposition
FC-72	3M, Fluorinet	1100-2-93	used for fluropolymer deposition (flurocarbon solvent)
Cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate, 99.9%	Sigma-Aldrich	228931	used for Ceria coating deposition
Hydrogen peroxide solution, 30%	Sigma-Aldrich	H1009	used for Ceria coating deposition
Stearic acid, ≥98.5%	Sigma-Aldrich	S4751	used for Ceria coating deposition
Ethanol	SICAL, S.A.	16271	used throughout
Acetone	SICAL, S.A.	1090	used throughout
Aluminum sheets 0.5mm	MODULOR (Germany)	125993	substrates used throught
Micro-90 concentrated cleaning solution	Sigma-Aldrich	Z281506
Ultra pure Milli-Q water	Millipore	discontinued	used throughout
Plasma Etcher/Asher/Cleaner EMITECH K1050X	Aname	K1500XDEV-001	used throughout
PCC software	AMETEK	discontinued	sofware controlling the high speed camera Phantom MIRO 4
High Speed Camera Phantom Miro 4	AMETEK	discontinued	used for bouncing drop experiments
Open Loop PLµ 2.32	UPC-CD6 & Sensofar Tech S.L.	version 2.32	Sofware controlling PLµ Confocal Imaging Profiler
Plµ-Confocal Imaging Profiler 2300	Sensofar Tech S.L.	discontinued	used for roughness measurements
TABER 5750 LINEAL ABRASER	TABER	5750	used for lateral abrasion tests
Abbrasive sand: ASTM 20-30 SAND C778	U.S. SILICA COMPANY (USA)	1-800-635-7263	used for abrasive partcile impact tests
Ozone cleaner: PSDP-UV4T, Digital UV Ozone System	Novascam	discontinued	UV-ozone degradation test
Peristalitic Pump GILSON 312, France	GILSON (France)	discontinued	used for water dripping test
Nylon thread	Dracon fishing line, Izorline internacional, inc. (USA)	discontinued	used for ice adhesion tests
Digital force gauge (ZTA-200N, ZTA Series	IMADA (USA)	370199	used for ice adhesion tests
Motorized test stand I, MH2-500N-FA	IMADA (USA)	366942	used for ice adhesion tests
Force Recorder Professional	IMADA (USA)	version 1.0.2	software provided by IMADA to register the force
HYGROCLIP XD - STANDARD PROBE	Rotronic	discontinued	Temperature and humidity probe
HW3 Lite software	Rotronic	version 2.1.2	Sofware controlling the HYGROCLIP Probe