But as soon as any de-iced airplane takes off, most of the liquid slides from the surface of the aircraft and ends up polluting streams, lakes, and oceans.

Now, endeavoring to make a more efficient product immune to ice for such demanding industries, a team at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a longer-lasting and eco-friendly alternative to conventional deicers.

"Glycols dissolve very fast and get washed away before the plane takes off, and it's a serious problem that costs hundreds of millions of dollars—most of which literally ends up in the drain," said Sushant Anand, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. "We thought, why not improve such chemicals themselves, and make alternatives that can last longer while being more biofriendly. And that is what we ended up doing."

Working with Ph.D. student Rukmava Chatterjee, they accomplished their goal by developing 80 different anti-freezing coatings, which can be classified as polymeric solutions, emulsions, or gels. The formulations can be easily applied to aluminum, steel, copper, glass, plastic or any industrial surface without preconditioning or expensive surface treatments.