Effect of asymmetric wettability on directional transport of water through Janus fabrics prepared by an electrospinning technique

Abstract

Janus fabric with directional water transport has attracted much attention in scientific and industrial communities. However, limited knowledge is available regarding combining a commercial woven fabric and an electrospun nonwoven fabric to prepare Janus fabric and the effect of asymmetric wettability on its directional water transport properties. Herein, we prepared two types of Janus fabric by depositing different thicknesses of polystyrene (PS) layers on the hydrophilic polyester fabrics (100 μm) and by depositing the same thickness of PS layer (6.0 μm) on different hydrophilic polyester fabrics. The Janus fabrics showed directional water transport features when the PS layer thickness was between 3.0 and 12.0 μm. On hydrophilic polyester, the fabric exhibited directional water transport and the penetration time of water decreased with increasing hydrophobicity. These novel results may be useful for designing and developing “smart” textiles with directional water transport properties for various applications.