Robust, Flexible, and Superhydrophobic Fabrics for High-Efficiency and Ultrawide-Band Microwave Absorption
Zhong Zhang,
Yaxin Meng,
Xinrui Fang,
Qing Wang,
Xungai Wang,
Haitao Niu,
Hua Zhou
Affiliations
Zhong Zhang
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education Collaborative, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Yaxin Meng
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Xinrui Fang
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education Collaborative, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Qing Wang
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education Collaborative, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Xungai Wang
Research Centre of Textiles for Future Fashion, JC STEM Lab of Sustainable Fibers and Textiles, School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China; Corresponding authors.
Haitao Niu
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Corresponding authors.
Hua Zhou
Laboratory for Manufacturing Low Carbon and Functionalized Textiles in the Universities of Shandong Province, College of Textiles & Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Textiles of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Education Collaborative, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Corresponding authors.
Microwave absorption (MA) materials are essential for protecting against harmful electromagnetic radiation. In this study, highly efficient and ultrawide-band microwave-absorbing fabrics with superhydrophobic surface features were developed using a facile dip-coating method involving in situ graphene oxide (GO) reduction, deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles, and subsequent coating of a mixture of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and octadecylamine (ODA) on polyester fabrics. Owing to the presence of hierarchically structured surfaces and low-surface-energy materials, the resultant reduced GO (rGO)/TiO2-ODA/PDMS-coated fabrics demonstrate superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 159° and sliding angle of 5°. Under the synergistic effects of conduction loss, interface polarization loss, and surface roughness topography, the optimized fabrics show excellent microwave absorbing performances with a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −47.4 dB and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 7.7 GHz at a small rGO loading of 6.9 wt%. In addition, the rGO/TiO2-ODA/PDMS coating was robust, and the coated fabrics could withstand repeated washing, soiling, long-term ultraviolet irradiation, and chemical attacks without losing their superhydrophobicity and MA properties. Moreover, the coating imparts self-healing properties to the fabrics. This study provides a promising and effective route for the development of robust and flexible materials with microwave-absorbing properties.
