Durable Coatings

Scientists Develop Environmentally Safe, Frost-Resistant Coatings Airports are especially busy during winter months. While passengers wait to board planes, aircraft must be washed with thousands of gallons of de-icing fluid to help them combat the cold winter, causing delays. However, once the plane takes off, most of the fluid runs off the aircraft's surface and can contaminate freshwater sources and lakes. Sushant Anand, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UIC, and Rukmava Chatterjee, a UIC doctoral student, have developed a longer-lasting alternative to traditional de-icers, aimed at creating a more efficient product with ice resistance for such demanding industries and consumers. The researchers say this could also benefit other sectors. "We questioned the lifespan of cryoprotectants and looked for new ways to increase their effectiveness," said Anand. "Glycols dissolve very quickly in water and wash off before the aircraft takes off, which is a serious problem costing hundreds of millions of dollars, most of which is literally wasted. We thought, why don't we develop these types of chemicals ourselves and produce alternatives that can last longer and be more environmentally friendly. And that's ultimately what we did. To achieve their goal, the researchers developed a broad family of more than 80 anti-freeze coatings that can be classified as polymeric solutions, emulsions, creams and gels. The formulations can be easily applied to aluminum, steel, copper, glass, plastic or any industrial surface without pre-conditioning or expensive surface treatments. "Our coatings are an all-in-one package that can delay frost formation over long hours and at the same time allow any ice that forms on the surface to shed easily with a light breeze or simple substrate deflection," said Chatterjee. The researchers' work has been reported in an Advanced Materials article titled "A family of frost-resistant and icephobic coatings." The coatings are a family of phase-change material-based formulations and multifunctional coatings that can adapt solid contaminant adhesion on functional surfaces ranging from ice to bacteria, regardless of the natural material structure and chemistry. This was achieved by regulating how chemicals leach from the material system and creating a lubricating surface layer that is both slippery and non-freezing. The anti-freeze gels are also transparent, which is critical for applications such as traffic signals, runway lights that assist pilots during landing, automotive windshields or building windows. "Imagine coating your smartwatch with our gel that can prevent ice formation in sub-zero temperatures while also preventing any bacterial contamination," said Chatterjee, and Anand added, "Since our anti-frost sprays are bio-friendly and anti-bacterial, we even think they could have the potential to be used in agriculture to prevent crops from being damaged by severe frost. But for now, this is just a dream; we need to do more work to see if there will be any long-term negative effects on plants." A worldwide patent application titled "Compositions and Methods for Preventing Ice Formation on Surfaces" has been filed by UIC's Office of Technology Management. "There is great potential for these materials in many applications, and I think the day when commercial versions of our materials come to market is getting closer," said Anand. Anand Research Group members Hassan Bararnia and Umesh Chaudhuri collaborated with Chatterjee in the experiments. Source https://phys.org/news/2022-04-scientists-environmentally-safe-frost-resistant coatings.html More information: Rukmava Chatterjee et al, A family of frost‐resistant and icephobic coatings, Advanced Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202109930 Journal information: Advanced Materials Provided by University of Illinois at Chicago