Smart Superhydrophobic Films with Self-Sensing and Anti-Icing Properties Based on Silica Nanoparticles and Graphene

As one of the major passive anti-icing method, superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive attentions to solve the icing problem. Self-sensing properties of multifunctional superhydrophobic materials broaden the application prospects such as anti-icing detection. Here, 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) modified graphene based micronano hierarchical structure films are prepared, which exhibit superior superhydrophobic characteristics with the water contact angle (WCA) of 152.1 degrees and sliding angle (SA) of 2.3 degrees under the temperature of -10 degrees C and condensation. The dynamic impact and bounce process of supercooled droplets on micronano hierarchical structure film indicates excellent anti-icing performance. More importantly, the prepared superhydrophobic film can rapidly sense the impacting droplets of different falling heights and sizes, and record the entire process of water droplets freezing. This research is of great significance for the research of real-time anti-icing and low-temperature self-sensing.