Transparent, Self-Healing, and Defogging Wearable Devices Enabled by Plasmonic Silver Nanoparticle-Embedded Covalent–Organic Framework Nanosheets

The development of transparent wearable devices capable of self-healing and efficient fog removal is of great significance. In this study, we have realized the fabrication of a wearable composite film exhibiting remarkable transparency along with efficient light-triggered healing and defogging capabilities. This was achieved by integrating plasmonic silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) embedded covalent–organic framework (COF) nanosheets, denoted as AgNPs/CONs, into a waterborne elastic polyurethane (PU) matrix. Due to the synergistic effect between AgNPs with high plasmonic properties and COF nanosheets with excellent photothermal characteristics, the resulting composite film, even with an ultralow loading of plasmonic AgNPs/CONs (0.15 wt %), demonstrate a rapid temperature increase to 80 °C upon exposure to 500 mW cm –2 near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation for 12 s. Simultaneously, it maintains a high optical transmittance of 96.2% at a thin film thickness of 20 μm with an extremely low loading of plasmonic AgNPs/CONs (0.08 wt %). This localized temperature elevation effectively eliminates surface fog and promotes the healing of mechanical damage within the composite film, achieving a healing efficiency exceeding 98%. Our findings represent a significant advancement in the design of transparent and photothermally active materials based on COFs, opening up new prospects for next-generation electronic applications.