Compositions and methods for fabricating durable, low-ice-adhesion coatings

A method of forming a low-ice-adhesion coating, said method comprising:

• (a) obtaining a hardenable precursor material for a low-ice-adhesion coating, said hardenable precursor material comprising:
• a first component;
• and
• a plurality of inclusions containing a second component,
• wherein one of said first component or said second component is a low-surface-energy polymer having a surface energy between about 5 mJ/m2 to about 50 mJ/m2, and the other of said first component or said second component is a hygroscopic material;
• (b) applying said hardenable precursor material to a substrate surface;
• and
• (c) curing said hardenable precursor material to form a low-ice-adhesion coating comprising a hardened continuous matrix,
• wherein said hardened continuous matrix contains said first component covalently connected in a block copolymer with said second component,
• wherein said inclusions are dispersed within said hardened continuous matrix to form a phase-separated microstructure that is inhomogeneous on an average length scale of phase inhomogeneity of greater than 0.1 microns to about 500 microns,
• and wherein low-ice-adhesion coating is characterized by an AMIL Centrifuge Ice Adhesion Reduction Factor of about 10 or more.

A method of forming a low-ice-adhesion coating, said method comprising:

• (a) obtaining a low-ice-adhesion material comprising:
• a substantially continuous matrix containing a first component;
• and
• a plurality of inclusions containing a second component, wherein said inclusions are dispersed within said substantially continuous matrix to form a phase-separated microstructure that is inhomogeneous on an average length scale of phase inhomogeneity of greater than 0.1 microns to about 500 microns,
• wherein said substantially continuous matrix contains said first component covalently connected in a block copolymer with said second component,
• wherein one of said first component or said second component is a low-surface-energy polymer having a surface energy between about 5 mJ/m2 to about 50 mJ/m2, and the other of said first component or said second component is a hygroscopic material;
• and
• (b) applying said low-ice-adhesion material to a substrate surface, thereby forming a low-ice-adhesion coating containing said low-ice-adhesion material, wherein said low-ice-adhesion coating is characterized by an AMIL Centrifuge Ice Adhesion Reduction Factor of about 10 or more.