Zhixin Kang

Widely used flexible electronics are vulnerable to liquid infiltration during working, and the superhydrophobic surface has an available protective effect. In this work, a flow field‐induced one‐step electrodeposition method is used to fabricate superhydrophobic films. The main components are cerium myristate (CeM) and carboxylated multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs‐COOH). The morphology of the films changes a lot due to the addition of MWCNTs‐COOH from granular structure to network structure. The faster rotation of solution makes the deposition of MWCNTs‐COOH more uniform without vertical patterned stripes and smoother surfaces. The films’ deionized water contact angles are not affected, but the sliding angles decline distinctly because of the smoother surface. Besides, two competing flow fields and electric fields will degrade the wettability of the films electrodeposited for a short time at 10 V. Electrochemical performance tests and abrasion tests are employed to examine if the superhydrophobic films can withstand abrasions, impacts, and electrochemical corrosion. The lowest electric resistivity of the films reaches 56.1 ± 4.3 mΩ mm. In the end, a light‐emitting diode bulb connected to a simple, flexible circuit prepared by a selective mask method can glow, which also proves its potential for applications in flexible electronics.

Herein, a superhydrophobic and highly conductive cotton fabric (CF) composite with outstanding corrosion resistance for wearable textile electronics is developed. The fabrication process of the fabric composite involves spraying deposition and electrodeposition. Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) are first synthesized on cotton fibers surface via two components spraying, forming cotton fibers core/AgNPs shell structure. The CF/AgNPs composite is then covered with a layer of cerium myristate (CeM) by electrodeposition, which endows the composite with superhydrophobicity and outstanding corrosion resistance. The resistivity of CF/AgNPs/CeM composite could reach as low as 0.106 Ω mm. Moreover, the obtained CF/AgNPs/CeM composite exhibits excellent self‐cleaning property and superhydrophobicity with a contact angle (CA) of 158.4°. Also, it maintains superhydrophobicity (CA > 150°) after 60 cm abrasion test or immersion in strong acidic/alkaline solution (pH = 1 or 13) for 24 h. In addition, the corrosion current density of conductive fabric composite (CFC) after electrodeposition decreases to 4.79% of the original value in simulated sweat corrosive media, suggesting a significant improvement of anti‐corrosion. The developed superhydrophobic CFC with excellent corrosion resistance and self‐cleaning performance has promising applications for wearable electronics in harsh conditions.

Recently, the interfacial bonding between nanodiamonds (DNDs) and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in epoxy‐based nanocomposites were found. In this work, effects of amino functionalization on MWCNTs and DNDs introduction on rheology, dynamic mechanical properties, and thermal stability of MWCNTs epoxy‐based nanocomposites are discussed. The results show that pristine MWCNTs increase the complex viscosity, lower the molecular weight of epoxy net chains as well as glass transition temperature (T_g), and expand the phase separation. Amino functionalization of MWCNTs make the behaviors above disappeared nearly. Besides, introduction DNDs improved T_g and restricted the phase separation as well, but the high complex viscosity and non‐Newtonian behavior remains. This work may provide inspirations for the further researches about hybrid fillers.

In this study, a facile method was prepared to fabricate highly flexible, conductive and superhydrophobic polymer fabrics. Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were decorated on polypropylene fabrics using a simple spraying method and superhydrophobicity was obtained after vacuum drying for 4 h without any surface modifier. Accumulation of CuNPs constituted coral-like rough micro-nano structures, forming a stable Cassie model and endowing the surface with dense charge transport pathways, thus resulting in excellent superhydrophobicity (water contact angle ∼159°, sliding angle ∼2.3°) and conductivity (sheet resistance ∼0.92 Ω sq ⁻¹ ). The fabrics displayed superior waterproof and self-cleaning properties, as well as great sustainability in the water. Additionally, the superhydrophobicity and conductivity can be almost maintained after heat treatment, wear testing, water droplet impinging, weak alkali/acid treatment and repeated bending-kneading tests. These superhydrophobic and conductive fabrics that are free from moisture and pollution can be a reliable candidate to solve the water-penetration issue in the rapid development of flexible electronics.

Microstructure analyses, immersion tests, and electrochemical measurements are performed to investigate the corrosion behavior of Mg–1.59Nd–2.91–Zn–0.05Zr–0.35Mn (NZKM) alloy under three different conditions (as‐cast, heat‐treated, and as‐extruded) in Hanks’ solution. The results indicate that the corrosion rates of the three types of NZKM alloys are all lower than 0.5 mm year⁻¹. The primary driving force of the NZKM alloys’ corrosion is the microgalvanic coupling between α‐Mg and β‐compounds/precipitates in Hanks’ solution during the corrosion process. The lowest corrosion rates can be attributed to a low content of β‐compounds and less precipitation, a necklace‐type appearance, and discontinuous distribution of the β‐compounds in the heat‐treated NZKM alloy. The clustered precipitation that occurs within the as‐extruded NZKM exacerbates the corrosion process due to the formation of clustered microgalvanic couple groups. These results indicate that the content of β‐compounds and precipitation of the NZKM alloys, as well as their appearances and distributions, should be controlled to allow for further application as biodegradable materials.

Here, thin Ag films with excellent properties were successfully prepared on flexible substrates through surface grafting and assembling followed by simple spray‐assisted deposition process. The constructed molecule brushes provide the interfacial adhesion for Ag layers onto polymer substrates. The mechanical and electrical properties of the conductive Ag coated PET could be tuned by changing the spraying passes. As the electromagnetic interference shielding material, the composite PET possesses a highest shielding efficiency of 45 dB. In addition, the Ag coated PET with the thickness of 0.1 mm would maintain the 72% electrical conductivity even been folded even at a minimum diameter of 0.2 mm. It was demonstrated that uniform and fine cracks would generate when the Ag coated PET was stretching, but Ag films still retain continuous networks to maintain the high electronic conductivity even stretching to 100%. Simple finite element modeling results prove that the stress by stretching would concentrate in corner of the crack and the deformation is mainly at stress side. The Ag layers were also produced on TPU substrates to detect the stretching, showing its potential applications for strain sensors and health monitoring systems.