Frost is undesirable in many applications. Previous methods of defrosting are either energy intensive or ineffective in the long term. Meanwhile, frost is a valuable freshwater source whose production is delayed due to the solid state and lengthy accumulation of frost. Here, a salt-solution-infused thin-film condenser (SSTFC) is proposed for anti-frost at low energy consumption and simultaneous freshwater production. The SSTFC is composed of a highly permeable lower layer for salt solution infusion and an ultrathin hydrophobic top layer for constraining the infused solution and incorporating condensed vapor into the underlying solution at various low temperatures. The gradually diluted salt solution can be passively transported for regeneration and freshwater production by solar energy. The regenerated salt solution can be pumped back to the SSTFC for continuous operation of the system. Energy consumption can be saved by >50% compared to conventional methods.

霜在许多应用中是不可取的。从长远来看，以前的除霜方法要么是能源密集型的，要么是无效的。同时，霜冻是一种宝贵的淡水资源，由于霜冻的固态和长期积累，其生产延迟。在这里，提出了一种注入盐溶液的薄膜冷凝器 (SSTFC)，用于在低能耗和同时生产淡水的情况下进行防霜。SSTFC 由用于盐溶液灌注的高渗透性下层和用于限制灌注溶液并在各种低温下将冷凝蒸汽结合到下层溶液中的超薄疏水顶层组成。逐渐稀释的盐溶液可以被动输送用于太阳能再生和淡水生产。再生的盐溶液可以泵回 SSTFC 用于系统的连续运行。与传统方法相比，可节省 50% 以上的能源消耗。