Fabrication of a Porous Slippery Icephobic Surface and Effect of Lubricant Viscosity on Anti-Icing Properties and Durability

A breakdown caused by the icing of power generation infrastructure is one of the serious disasters occurring in the power system. Slippery lubricant-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs), whose ice adhesion strength is extremely low, have a promising application in the anti-icing field. In the present study, we fabricated SLIPSs with low ice adhesion strength by infusing silicone oil into an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate. In addition, the effects of the viscosity of silicone oil on the anti-icing properties and durability of the SLIPSs were investigated. The results show that a lower viscosity silicone oil brings about more slippery surfaces and lower ice adhesion strength. The ice adhesion strength was reduced by 99.3% in comparison with the bare Al alloy. However, low-viscosity silicone oil has worse de-icing resistance and heat resistance. Additionally, the porous films filled with low-viscosity silicone oil possess a better self-healing property after icing/de-icing cycles and followed by exposure to the atmosphere. When the viscosity of silicone oil is 50 mPa·s, the SLIPSs exhibit the best durability for anti-icing. Even after 21 de-icing tests or 168 h of heating at 90 °C, the ice adhesion strength still remains below 10% compared with that of bare Al. This work provides some useful advice for the design and fabrication of anti-icing SLIPSs.