Polyimide Enables Carbon-Based Conductive Polymer Composites with High Working Temperature for Deicing Application

Carbon-based conductive polymer composites (CPCs) have significant potential for fabricating low-cost and high-performance flexible electric heating films in deicing applications. However, the inferior high-temperature resistance and low heating power density seriously restrict their large-scale commercial application. Herein, a series of polyimide (PI)/carbon black (CB) composite electrothermal films with excellent high-temperature stability and high-power density are prepared by a simple slurry coating method. With successfully introducing the high-temperature resistance and high mechanical strength PI as polymer matrix, the PI/CB composite electrothermal films with a low percolation threshold of 10.8% have a broad operating temperature ranging from 40°C to 270°C under low applied voltages (< 60 V) at room temperature. Impressively, these PI/CB composite electrothermal films with a uniform thin thickness of 45 μm exhibit high operating temperature (> 200°C), rapid heating response speed (< 10 s), remarkable long-term working stability, and superior low-temperature operating reliability even at −30°C. The simulated deicing experiment indicates that the PI/CB composite electrothermal film dislodges an ice cube (thickness = 10 mm) within 280 s. This work not only provides a universal strategy for the design and fabrication of high-operating-temperature CPCs, but also verifies the great potential for use in deicing applications.