Ice-Shedding Polymer Coatings with High Hardness but Low Ice Adhesion

Ice readily sheds from weak oil-swollen polymer gels but tends to adhere to mechanically robust coatings. This paper reports bilayer coatings that simultaneously possess high bulk hardness but low ice adhesion. These coatings are prepared by cocuring a triisocyanate, P#′-g-PDMS [a methacrylate polyol bearing poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) side chains with # being 1, 2, or 3 and g denoting graft], and optionally a methacrylate polyol P#. The self-assembly of the system during coating formation yields a PDMS brush layer on the surface of the cross-linked polyurethane matrix. After the surface PDMS layer is lubricated with a silicone oil, this coating exhibits an ice adhesion τ that is 10 000-fold lower than that of a triisocyanate/P# coating. Ice slides under its own weight on such a coating at a tilt angle of 3°. Yet, the coating matrix is harder than poly(ethylene terephthalate), a widely used plastic. Additionally, such a coating maintains its low τ values for more than 10 consecutive icing/deicing cycles. Subsequent increases in τ are reversed by allowing time for the replenishment of the depleted surface lubricant with that released from the coating matrix. This design opens the door for effective yet hard ice-shedding polymer coatings.