Flexible Mushroom-Like Cross-Scale Surface with Extreme Pressure Resistance for Telecommunication Lines Anti-Icing/Deicing

Ice accretion caused by freezing rain or snowstorms is a common phenomenon in cold climates that seriously threatens the safety and reliability of telecommunication lines and other overhead networks. Various anti-icing strategies have been demonstrated through surface engineering to delay ice formation. However, existing anti-icing surfaces still encounter several challenges; for example, surfaces are prone to ice-pinning formation due to the impact of supercooled droplets, which leads to a loss of anti-icing effectiveness. In this study, a mushroom-like cross-scale surface (MCS) with extreme pressure resistance and superior anti-ice-pinning property was reported. Specifically, the designed MCS, featuring multiscale microfeatures, re-entrant structure, heterogeneous sidewalls, and nanoscale particles, exhibits excellent anti-icing properties. Ice formation was determined to occur through a process involving liquid penetration, condensation, icing, and frost filling. By establishing an anti-ice -pinning model and a bubble column model, the relationship between structural characteristics and anti-icing performance was clarified. The MCS demonstrates excellent static liquid repellency (contact angle >167°) and robust dynamic impact resistance (water impact with Weber number ≥300). Furthermore, it exhibits an ultralow ice adhesion strength of 0.46 kPa. Notably, the ice adhesion strength remains below 5 kPa even after 15 deicing cycles. The anti-ice-pinning mechanism and robust icephobicity induced by the micromorphologies of MCS provide valuable insights for effective anti-icing prospects in telecommunication line surfaces and other areas in the field of information and communication technology.