Superhydrophobic magnetically responsive fabric heater with triple thermal conversion for all-weather anti-icing/deicing

Incorporating innovative technology into functional fabrics extends their utility and addresses the daily challenges posed by fabric icing. Identifying effective anti-icing/deicing strategy is essential to mitigate the associated inconveniences. In this study, polypyrrole (PPy), Fe 3 O 4 particles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are used as the raw materials to design an all-weather anti-icing and deicing functional fabric PDMS/Fe 3 O 4 /PPy@PET, presenting the photothermal/electrothermal and electromagnetic induction thermal functions. This functional fabric exhibits excellent hydrophobic performance with the contact angle of 152° and effectively delayed the droplet freezing for 181 s on a −10 ℃ cold table. The photothermal effect can reach an equilibrium temperature of 74.3 ℃ at 1 sunlight intensity and melt a 3 mm thick ice layer in 841 s. The electrothermal performance reaches to 72.2 ℃ at 10 V voltage and the ice layer is melted within 1436 s. The excellent electromagnetic induction thermal performance can reach to 71.4 ℃ in 5 min at 8 V voltage, and completely melt the ice layer in 444 s. In addition, the fabric offers excellent durability, abrasion resistance and UV resistance, allowing for long-term outdoor use. This opens up new ideas for the development of anti-icing and deicing functional fabric.