Anti-Ice PMMA Surface Design and Processing

Abstract

At low temperatures, PMMA surfaces are prone to ice and frost formation, which presents a significant challenge for PMMA’s efficient application in cold environments due to the difficulty in physically removing the accumulated ice. Superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit promising potential in passive anti-icing strategies. To exploit this advantage, we employed femtosecond laser technology to create six distinct microstructured PMMA surfaces, followed by surface modification using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane, resulting in enhanced hydrophobic and anti-icing properties. Among the tested structures, a secondary circular dot pattern achieved a remarkable contact angle of 153.7°, prolonging the freezing duration by approximately 40% at −10 °C, and reducing frost accumulation by over 50%. The ice adhesion strength was significantly reduced to 34 kPa. These findings contribute to broadening the applicability of PMMA and advancing the use of superhydrophobic surfaces in anti-icing applications.