Freezing as a Path to Build Micro‐Nanostructured Icephobic Coatings

Abstract Superhydrophobic photothermal materials with the micro‐nano structure are considered to be promising icephobic surfaces. Unfortunately, converting micro‐nano hierarchical structure concepts into genuine synthetic materials has proven to be exceedingly expensive and difficult, partially because their sophisticated structures need construction at several length scales. Herein, a facile strategy of employing ice crystals to construct sophisticated hierarchical micro‐nanostructured anti‐icing composites with photothermal, self‐healable, and self‐cleaning properties is presented. The composites are covered with interconnected microscale pores replicated from ice crystals, which facilitates the construction of the hydrophobic or superhydrophobic properties based on the Cassie–Baxter model, endowing the coating with self‐cleaning ability. Besides, by adding solar‐to‐heat conversation nanomaterials, the coating can implement in situ solar anti‐/deicing. The abundant micropores caused by ice templates can further improve the photothermal conversion capability through multiple reflections of light. Importantly, the coating is endowed with the self‐healing capability to repair hydrophobicity under sunlight. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the self‐cleaning and self‐healing abilities are mutually reinforcing, synergistically improving anti‐/deicing performances. Overall, the presented ice‐templated coating shows great potential and broad impacts owing to its inexpensive component materials, simplicity, eco‐friendliness, and high energy efficiency.