Superhydrophobic and self-healable tri-layered composites with great thermal resistance and electrothermal ability

Abstract

Surface icing and delamination damage have been tough problems of outdoor devices and equipment in many fields including aerospace, new energy and electronics. Herein, one new thermally resistant tri-layered composites with superhydrophobic surface and great self-healing after complete fracture were fabricated based on self-healable epoxy resin (hEP), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and superhydrophobic copper powders (nCu). Integrated properties of composites are greatly associated with the loading of CNTs. The composite with 10 wt% CNTs (nCu-CNT3/hEP-hEP) shows excellent superhydrophobicity, and its glass transition temperatures of bottom layer (hEP) and interlayer (CNT3/hEP) are as high as 110–113 °C, guaranteeing the dimensional stability during Joule heating. Under a voltage of 10 V, ice blocks on nCu-CNT3/hEP-hEP melt within 26 s and rolled off from the superhydrophobic surface with a 5° horizontal tilt. Besides, two pieces obtained by cutting a whole block of nCu-CNT3/hEP-hEP composite were replanted to produce a perfect block of the composite after staying at 160 °C for 1 h; moreover, the healed composite also exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity, proving good abilities to ensure lifespan of related products. The mechanism behind these remarkable properties of nCu-CNT3/hEP-hEP properties was elucidated.