Max Planck Institute - Ice-free in icy worlds: Special shell protects Antarctic scallop from ice build-up.
Lisa Munger (right) and Paul Cziko prepare to descend beneath the ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Photo: McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory.
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Date published: March 2, 2022
Airplane wings that don't ice up or solar cells that generate electricity even in winter - ice-free surfaces are important for many applications. A team of scientists led by Konrad Meister, professor at the University of Alaska Southeast and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, has now studied an Antarctic scallop species that opposes the icing process with the help of its shell surface. Due to their special structure, thin layers of ice adhere poorly and are easily washed away by the flow. The discovery could help in the development of ice-free bionic surfaces in the long term…