Robust Full-Life Superhydrophobic Copper Foam/Polymer Porous Composite with Enhanced Electromagnetic Shielding Performance

The rapid development of smart electronics and 5G technology has intensified electromagnetic pollution, driving urgent demands for advanced yet environmentally benign electromagnetic interference shielding materials. Although metal foams exhibit exceptional shielding potential owing to their porous architecture and conductive networks, their performance severely degrades under humid environments due to chemical or electrochemical corrosion-induced conductive pathway disruption. Here, we developed a sustainable, robust superhydrophobic composite via a solvothermal approach, enabling in situ growth of low-surface-energy porous polymers within a copper foam framework without hazardous byproducts. This eco-friendly design synergistically combined structural robustness from the copper skeleton with superhydrophobicity from the polymeric component, addressing two critical challenges simultaneously: preventing moisture-induced shielding deterioration and overcoming mechanical fragility in traditional superhydrophobic materials. The composite demonstrated exceptional full-life superhydrophobic durability, maintaining water contact angles >150° and rolling angles <4° after a series of harsh condition tests, including 3000 sandpaper abrasion cycles (∼60 m abrasion length), knife scratching, compression, organic solvent immersion, high/low temperature, etc., suggesting long-term usability that reduces material consumption. Remarkably, it achieved a total shielding effectiveness of 66.9 dB, further enhanced to 78.7 dB under compression. Even after prolonged exposure to sunlight and wet-heat cycling tests, the electromagnetic shielding performance of PMCF remained essentially unchanged. This work provides a paradigm for designing durable multifunctional materials in demanding superhydrophobic and electromagnetic applications.