Ice-repellent coatings have been around for some time, but until now they have been very sensitive and easily detached from the surfaces to be protected. A research team from the Institute of Solid State Physics at Graz University of Technology has succeeded in remedying this shortcoming. They have developed an ice-repellent coating that adheres to various materials and is resistant to abrasion. The material delays the formation of ice crystals and reduces the adhesion of ice layers.

The researchers achieved this leap in development through the use of so-called initiated chemical vapor deposition. This makes it possible to gradually transition a strongly adhesive primer material into the ice-repellent compound. This gradual transition is achieved by applying the two materials as a changing gas mixture to the surface to be coated. Initially, the gas mixture consists purely of the primer material, while the proportion of ice-repellent material is continuously increased from zero to 100 % during application. The result is a coating with a strongly adhesive underside and a top side that does not allow ice crystals to adhere.