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Applied Thermal Engineering· 2026Q1

Photothermal dual-shell PCM microcapsules for superhydrophobic anti-icing/deicing coatings

Yu Zhang, Zhaowei Liu, Zechong Liu, Songshan Hu et al.

Short summary

Dual-shell microcapsules with photothermal and phase-change materials (TSP-A 0.5) create superhydrophobic coatings that extend droplet freezing time 14.5x (to 306s) and shorten photothermal deicing time to 64s.

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Key points

  • Dual-shell TSP-A 0.5 microcapsules integrate photothermal, latent-heat-storage, and superhydrophobic functions.
  • The coating achieves a water contact angle of 164.8°, a surface temperature rise to 99.3°C, and 94.5% photothermal conversion efficiency under light.
  • Latent heat storage capacity is 194.80 J/g with 95.72% energy release efficiency, stable over 100 thermal cycles.
  • Droplet freezing time is extended to 306s (14.5x longer than bare aluminum), and photothermal deicing time is reduced to 64s.
  • The coating demonstrates favorable corrosion resistance with a low-frequency impedance modulus of 8.01 × 10^7 Ω·cm².

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Abstract

Ice accretion on high-voltage transmission lines can easily cause conductor breakage and tower collapse, posing severe threats to power grid safety. Photothermal superhydrophobic coatings enable solar-driven active deicing and superhydrophobic passive anti-icing, yet the anti-icing/deicing efficiency decreases significantly at night or under prolonged overcast, rainy, and low-temperature conditions. In this study, dual-shell structured TSP photothermal phas e-change composite microspheres were prepared via a sol-gel method combined with in situ polymerization, and a spray-coating process was employed to construct a composite coating integrating photothermal, latent-heat-storage, and superhydrophobic functions. The results demonstrate that the introduction of an appropriate amount of aniline allows TSP-A 0.5 microspheres to form a uniform micro/nano rough structure on the coating surface, yielding a water contact angle of 164.8°. Under light irradiation, the surface temperature rapidly rises to 99.3 °C, and the photothermal conversion efficiency reaches 94.5%. Meanwhile, the n -tetradecane core provides effective latent-heat storage and release, with TSP-A 0.5 exhibiting a melting enthalpy of 194.80 J/g, an energy release efficiency of 95.72%, and stable thermal performance over 100 thermal cycles. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of the superhydrophobic interface, photothermal heating, and phase-change heat release, the droplet freezing time on the TSP-A 0.5 coating is extended to 306 s, which is 14.5 times that of the bare aluminum substrate, and the photothermal deicing time is shortened to 64 s. Moreover, the coating exhibits a low-frequency impedance modulus of 8.01 × 10 7 Ω·cm 2 , demonstrating favorable corrosion resistance. This work provides a new strategy for all-weather protective materials for transmission lines.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2026 · DOI ↗

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Surfaces, Coatings and FilmsMaterials Science