Superhydrophobic PDMS/PPy-Ag/Graphene/PET films with highly efficient electromagnetic interference shielding, UV shielding, self-cleaning and electrothermal deicing

In this work, a general strategy is reported to fabricate flexible superhydrophobic PDMS/PPy-Ag/Graphene/PET films with high conductivity and durability. The films achieved surface resistance of 6.32 omega/ and super -hydrophobicity of 154.5 degrees through adjusting AgNO3 concentration and reaction time. With the increase of re-action time, surface micro/nanostructure of the film became dense and the pores decreased to disappear, leading to competition between superhydrophobicity and electrical conductivity. The film had excellent heat resistance and UV resistance, good mechanical stability for sandpaper abrasion. The films could keep superhydrophobicity even they are treated with acid, alkali and salt solutions. Importantly, the coating showed excellent and stable electrothermal performance with fast response speed and rapid electrothermal deicing ability. At 5 V, ice cube with 0.5 cm3 completely melted and slid in 160 s. The films also showed excellent self-cleaning, UV shielding and electromagnetic interference shielding with an EMI SET of about 31.5 dB.