Abstract
This research aims to develop a non-fluorine based and durable coating technology that brings excellent hydrophobic, oleophobic and aqueous liquid repellent properties to polycotton fabrics (blend ratio 80/20 for cotton/polyester) while maintaining comfort to an acceptable level. A crosslinked network from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and trimethylated silica (TMS) has been formed on the surface of polycotton fabrics by the conventional padding-knife coating-padding-curing technique. A series of characterizations have been conducted to understand the chemical components, morphology, versatile protection and comfort of the coated fabrics. The TPU-PDMS-TMS (TPT) coated fabrics showed a high hydrophobic surface with a high water contact angle of 142°, and the coating was durable against different cycles of laundering and crocking. The coated fabrics also showed excellent repellency against oils, liquids and chemicals for a long period of time. The coating has affected the air permeability and water vapor permeability together with the moisture management property of the polycotton fabrics, and the thermal resistance of the polycotton fabric has been enhanced at the same time. The coating technology developed can be further applied in protective clothing and functional textiles in different areas including military, mining and outdoor protection gear.
Highlights
Coating is a very effective technology that brings extra functions to the substrate materials.A classic example of this is the coating for superhydrophobicity towards self-cleaning textiles, in which the superhydrophobic surface is measured by a water contact angle of >150◦ [1]
This study investigates the coating of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) combining with polydimethylsiloxane and trimethylated silica (PT) using a three-step pad-knife-pad coating on polycotton (PC) fabrics
The long chain of TPU combines with PDMS-trimethylated silica (TMS) to form crosslinking, providing flexible and soft segments with siloxane groups to exhibit low surface energy on polycotton fabrics [11,21]
Summary
A classic example of this is the coating for superhydrophobicity towards self-cleaning textiles, in which the superhydrophobic surface is measured by a water contact angle of >150◦ [1]. For self-cleaning textiles, the apparent contact angle is very high (150–170◦ ) and the angle of hysteresis is very low for the water droplets to roll off from the surface of the fabrics. Oleophobicity has been developed to bring resistance against oils to fabrics. Chemical resistance is another important factor for protective clothing, and it is very effective in surface decontamination for military uniforms, mining clothing and outdoor sportswear [2]. The omniphobic surface of clothing is helpful in protecting skin against hazardous liquid chemicals, industrial chemicals, petroleum oils, lubricants and bacterial viruses
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