One-Step Fabrication of Composite Hydrophobic Electrically Heated Graphene Surface

Abstract

Ice accumulation poses considerable challenges in transportation, notably in the domain of general aviation. The present study combines the strengths and limitations of conventional aircraft deicing techniques with the emerging trend toward all-electric aircraft. This study aims to utilize laser-induced graphene (LIG) technology to create a multifunctional surface, seamlessly integrating hydrophobic properties with efficient electrical heating to mitigate surface icing effectively. We investigated the utilization of a 10.6 μm CO2 laser for direct writing on polyimide (PI), a widely used insulating encapsulation material. From the thermomechanical perspective, our initial analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics software (V5.6) revealed that when the laser power P exceeds 5 W, the PI substrate experiences ablative damage. The experimental results show that when P ≤ 5 W, an increase in power has a positive impact on the quality, surface porosity, roughness reduction, line-spacing reduction, and water contact-angle enhancement of the graphene. Conversely, when P > 5 W, higher power negatively affects both the substrate and the graphene structure by inducing excessive ablation. However, it influences the graphene line height positively and is consistent with overall experimental–simulation congruence. Furthermore, the incorporation of high-quality graphene resulted in a surface that exhibited higher contact angles (CA > 120°), lower energy consumption, and higher heating efficiency compared to the use of traditional electrically heated materials for anti-icing applications. The potential applications of this one-step fabrication method extend across various industries, particularly aviation, marine engineering, and other ice-prone domains. Moreover, the method has extensive prospects for addressing pivotal challenges associated with ice formation and serves as an innovative and efficient anti-icing technology.