A Highly Transparent Photo-Electro-Thermal Film with Broadband Selectivity for All-Day Anti-/De-Icing

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 19; no. 40; p. e2301723
• Main Authors: Lin, Chongjia, Ma, Wei, Zhang, Yinglun, Law, Man-Kwan, Li, Cruz Y, Li, Yang, Chen, Zengshun, Li, Keqiao, Li, Meng, Zheng, Jiongzhi, Fu, Yunfei, Yan, Xiao, Chi, Cheng, Yang, Jinglei, Li, Weihong, Huang, Baoling, Yao, Shuhuai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-10-2023
• Subjects: Broadband; Ice formation; Ice removal; Infrared reflection; Nanotechnology; Photon absorption; Selectivity; Sunlight; Temperature effects; Thermal stress; super-hydrophobic; transparent films; anti-/de-icing; photo-electro-thermal
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202301723

A photo- and electro-thermal film can convert sunlight and electricity into heat to solve icing problems. Combination of them provides an efficient strategy for all-day anti-/de-icing. However, only opaque surfaces have been reported, due to the mutual exclusiveness between photon absorption and transmission. Herein, a highly transparent and scalable solution-processed photo-electro-thermal film is reported, which exhibits an ultra-broadband selective spectrum to separate the visible light from sunlight and a countertrend suppress of emission in longer wavelength. It absorbs ≈ 85% of invisible sunlight (ultraviolet and near-infrared) for light-heat conversion, meanwhile maintains luminous transmittance > 70%. The reflection of mid-infrared leads to low emissivity (0.41), which further preserves heat on the surface for anti-/de-icing purpose. This ultra-broadband selectivity enables temperature elevation > 40 °C under 1-sun illumination and the mutual support between photo-thermal and electro-thermal effects contributes to > 50% saving of electrical consumption under weak solar exposure (0.4-sun) for maintaining unfrozen surfaces at -35 °C environment. The reverberation from photo-electro-thermal and super-hydrophobic effects illustrates a lubricating removal of grown ice in short time (< 120 s). The self-cleaning ability and the durability under mechanical, electrical, optical, and thermal stresses render the film stable for long-term usage in all-day anti-/de-icing applications.