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Superhydrophobic and anti-icing properties of sol–gel prepared alumina coatings

  • Application of Powder Materials and Functional Coatings
  • Published:
Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sol–gel is a convenient method to fabricate micro-nano structures on various surfaces. In the present study, rough alumina surfaces were prepared from aluminum isopropoxide and ethyl acetoacetate and modified with low-concentration lauric acid (LA) dissolved in ethanol. The sample hydrophobicity and antiicing property were optimized by changing the rotation speed, rotation time, and coating thickness during spin-coating, and the type and concentration of surface modifier used during surface hydrophobization. Superhydrophobic surfaces were achieved with contact angle values as high as 157.6°, when 0.4-mm-thick coatings were modified with 0.4% LA dissolved in ethanol. The surface morphology of the superhydrophobic samples was shown to be rough at micro/nano-scale, which allowed them to demonstrate excellent anti-icing properties. Specifically, the optimized sample could delay the icing time and reduce the freezing temperature from 15 min and–4.1°C (for uncoated aluminum) to 65 min and–8.3°C, respectively, while also reducing the ice adhesion strength twice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials and Metallurgy, Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, Hubei, China

    M. Ruan, J. W. Wang, Q. L. Liu, F. M. Ma, Z. L. Yu, W. Feng & Y. Chen

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  1. M. Ruan
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  2. J. W. Wang
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  3. Q. L. Liu
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  4. F. M. Ma
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  6. W. Feng
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Ruan, M., Wang, J.W., Liu, Q.L. et al. Superhydrophobic and anti-icing properties of sol–gel prepared alumina coatings. Russ. J. Non-ferrous Metals 57, 638–645 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1067821216060122

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1067821216060122

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