Taking a page from nature’s book could allow humans to mitigate subzero temperatures without harming the environment
New, nontoxic materials could one day keep solar panels and airplane wings ice-free, or protect first responders from frostbite and more, thanks to a new University of Michigan-led project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The research team will study biological molecules used by other living things to survive freezing temperatures. The project officially begins this week and includes researchers from Raytheon Technologies, North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota.
Existing materials used to accomplish these feats come with serious downsides. For instance, road salts prevent pavements and streets from freezing but also corrode concrete and enter natural freshwaters through runoff, to the detriment of aquatic life.
Spraying planes with de-icing fluids ensures that winter flights stay safe, but the chemicals in such fluids are toxic and can also pollute waterways. And some of what the researchers aim to make with the up to $11.5 million project has no current analogue, like a lotion that protects from frostbite without heavy winter layers.
“For the past seven or eight years now, my group has been making surfaces that have very low adhesion to ice. Such ice-shedding coatings can be very useful for a number of applications such as wind turbines, power lines or airplane wings,” said Anish Tuteja, the project’s principal investigator and a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan.