Flexible hierarchical ZnO/AgNWs/carbon cloth-based film for efficient microwave absorption, high thermal conductivity and strong electro-thermal effect

Flexible microwave absorption (MA) materials with high thermal conductivities and electric-thermal performances have promising applications in the wearable electronics and artificial intelligence fields. Herein, multifunctional and flexible ZnO/carbon cloth (CC@ZnO) films with effective MA performance were prepared using a typical hydrothermal method. The flexible CC@ZnO-3 film displays high reflection loss (R_L) values of - 47.3 dB at 2.5 mm and broadest effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.0 GHz in the whole X band for the construction of 3D ZnO arrays and 2D CC matrix. Moreover, CC@ZnO-3 film was coated silver nanowires (AgNWs) solution to fabricate CC@ZnO/AgNWs/PVA (CAP) films with a highly conductively network. As a consequence, CC matrix and AgNWs conductive network contribute CAP with low voltages driven Joule heating performance, which ensure the functional integrity under extreme conditions. Therefore, our fabrications have potential applications in the fields of MA and the protection of wearable electronics.