A new study reveals that the unique lipid composition of polar bear fur could revolutionize anti-icing technologies across various industries, from aviation to renewable energy, providing a sustainable solution inspired by nature.
Polar bear fur’s remarkable ability to prevent ice formation is inspiring new, eco-friendly technologies to combat ice buildup in diverse industries, from aviation to renewable energy. A collaborative study published in Science Advances sheds light on the unique properties of polar bear fur, revealing a blend of lipids in the animal’s sebum — an oily substance produced by the skin — that significantly reduces ice adhesion.
In an era of climate change, these natural mechanisms may offer a sustainable solution to ice accumulation on critical infrastructure like wind turbine blades and airplane wings. Advanced quantum chemical simulations by the University of Surrey’s computational chemistry team played a pivotal role in this discovery.
The team investigated the molecular interactions between the polar bear fur’s sebum and ice, leading to groundbreaking insights.
“We found that specific lipids in the sebum, such as cholesterol and diacylglycerols, exhibit very low adsorption energies on ice. This weak interaction is what prevents ice from adhering to the fur,” co-author Marco Sacchi, an associate professor at Surrey’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, said in a news release.
Further experiments validated these theoretical findings.
The researchers measured ice adhesion strength before and after the natural oils were removed from the fur. Untreated polar bear fur demonstrated performance comparable to high-end fluorocarbon coatings widely used in sports and industry, while washed fur, devoid of its sebum, showed ice adhesion levels four times higher than unwashed samples.
The research team also examined the fur’s water-repelling characteristics, essential for delaying the onset of freezing in the harsh Arctic environment where temperatures plunge below -40 degrees Centigrade. However, these hydrophobic properties alone did not account for the superior anti-icing capacity.
Using sophisticated techniques like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), the researchers identified a unique lipid mix, especially cholesterol and diacylglycerols, responsible for the exceptional anti-icing behavior.
“It’s fascinating to see how evolution has optimized the sebum’s composition to avoid ice adhesion. We found squalene, a common lipid in other marine mammals, was almost entirely absent in polar bear fur,” Sacchi added. “Our computational simulations revealed squalene strongly adheres to ice, and this absence significantly enhances the fur’s ice-shedding properties.”
The study, led by the Norwegian Polar Institute and the University of Bergen, with key contributions from Trinity College Dublin, University College London and the National Museum of Denmark, also underscores the value of Indigenous knowledge of the Arctic. Inuit communities have long understood the special properties of polar bear fur, historically using it in tools and clothing.