A photothermal and superhydrophobic emulsified asphalt coating modified by CNTs and PTFE for anti-icing and de-icing applications

The road ice is a common phenomenon, which brings a safety risk to traffic. Carbon nanotube is an excellent photothermal conversion material. In outdoor environment, carbon nanotube can convert solar energy into heat energy to achieve the purpose of melting ice. In this paper, an emulsified asphalt coating modified by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was prepared. During the preparation, we found that the optimal ratio of PTFE and CNTs is 1:1, and the optimal spraying amount is 400 ml/m(2). The photothermal conversion performance test shows that the freezing time of water on the coating surface is significantly prolonged under near -infrared light irradiation. With the increase of light intensity, icing does not appear on coated surfaces. At the same time, the melting time of ice on the coating surface is about twice shorter than that on the unmodified asphalt surface under near -infrared irradiation. The superhydrophobic performance test shows that the contact angle of droplets on the coating surface can reach more than 150, and the adhesion strength of ice on the coating surface is greatly reduced. The microscopic morphology of the coating shows that CNTs and PTFE are evenly distributed on the surface of the coating. To sum up, the photothermal hydrophobic coating has a good application potential for road anti -icing and de-icing.