Fabric-based superhydrophobic MXene@ polypyrrole heater with superior dual-driving energy conversion

Superhydrophobic conductive materials have gained more attention due to their broad applications in oil-water separation, electromagnetic shielding, and wearable heaters. With their inherent softness and breathability, fabrics are an excellent choice for wearable heater substrates. In this work, we decorate MXene(Ti₃C₂T_x) and Polypyrrole (PPy) on the surface of the fabric fibers by adopting a simple method of dip-coating and in situ growth. The surface is modified with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to obtain a superhydrophobic conductive fabric (MXene@PPy/PDMS fabric). The MXene@PPy/ PDMS fabric retains the original softness and breathability of the fabric and has excellent electrical conductivity, outstanding superhydrophobicity, good chemical stability, and mechanical durability. In addition, it also exhibits excellent electrical and photothermal heating performance. Impressively, arising from the superior Joule heating capacity and photothermal conversion performance, the Mxene@PPy/PDMS fabric also proves excellent dewatering and deicing capacity. As one of the promising applications, the Mxene@PPy/PDMS fabric exhibits the effectiveness and feasibility of hyperthermia, heat retention, and deicing.