Temperature self-regulating electrothermal pseudo-slippery surface for anti-icing

Abstract Ice accretion has become an urgent problem and considerably decreases the reliability of aerospace, power network, and transportation equipment. Herein, a temperature self-regulating electrothermal pseudo-slippery surface with intelligent anti-icing ability was introduced by combining electrothermal effect and phase transition lubricant, which exhibits positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect and interfacial state switching performance. The coating exerts its PTC effect to realize smart temperature accommodation, and automatically regulates its EPD for anti-icing under various cold loads, greatly decreasing the energy consumption of anti-icing by ~ 30% at an initial electric power density of 1.5 W/cm2 (compared with general electrothermal coating) and preventing overheating even at an initial electric power density of 5 W/cm2 without requiring complex regulatory equipment. After heating, the reversible solid to liquid phase transition of the lubricant assisted the switch from pseudo-slippage to slippage of the surface, decreasing ice accretion on the coating (by ~ 40% after icing for 120 s at –40 ± 3 °C). Furthermore, the mechanical function of PTC–ESS was highly stable in continuous humid airflow/sand scour tests. The integration strategy will provide inspiration for designing intelligent anti-icing surfaces and promote their engineering applications.