Mechanism and research progress of anti/de-icing using hydrophobic/superhydrophobic surfaces

Inhibiting icing of droplets is of great significance in practical engineering applications, and thus, employing an economical and efficient anti/de-icing method is a research hotspot. Traditional technologies such as liquid anti-icing, electric heating anti-icing, air heating anti-icing, and mechanical de-icing have significant anti/de-icing effects, but they also suffer from issues such as high energy consumption, limited anti-icing time, and incomplete de-icing effect; whereas the anti/de-icing technique based on hydrophobic/superhydrophobic surfaces can have obvious advantages. In this study, we first review the mechanism and affecting factors of anti/de-icing process using hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces. Then, we address the existing problems for this anti/de-icing technique, and point out that the efficiency of the anti/de-icing process can be further improved by using the rebound characteristics of droplets. Finally, we suggest that it is necessary to systematically study the coupling characteristics of the kinetic process, the heat transfer process and the freezing process of impacting droplets in the future, so that it can provide a theoretical guidance for ice inhibition using the rebound characteristics of droplets.