Anti-icing coatings have been in existence for some time, yet they often suffer from degradation and rapid detachment from the surfaces they are meant to safeguard. However, a recent article titled "Icephobic Gradient Polymer Coatings Deposited via iCVD: A Novel Approach for Icing Control and Mitigation" (doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c18630), with the contribution of researchers from the Department of Materials Science at the University of Milano-Bicocca contributed, has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (Impact Factor 9.5 - 2022 Journal Impact Factor, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2023)). This work presents a highly ice-repellent coating that can be applied to a wide range of materials and is highly resistant to abrasion.
The coating is achieved through a chemical deposition technology called iCVD (Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition). This technique enables the production of coatings with a gradual transition between two compounds. The first, called a primer, acts as an adhesive to the substrate, while the second is a highly ice-repellent compound. The result is a coating with a strongly adhesive base and an upper layer that prevents ice crystals from adhering.
This study is the result of a collaboration between the University of Graz (Austria, Prof. Anna Maria Coclite with Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez) and the Department of Materials Science at the University of Milano-Bicocca (SEFI Lab, Prof. Carlo Antonini and Luca Stendardo). Both institutions are part of the SURFICE training network (Smart surface design for efficient ice protection and control), a project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.