Abstract
A robust superhydrophobic fabric coating was fabricated on cotton fabric under UV light, which was achieved by convenient surface modification with mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane, tetramethyltetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane, and octadecyl mercaptan. The modification of cotton fabric with 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane introduces reactive mercapto groups, after which 2,4,6,8-tetramethyltetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane reacts with mercapto groups, and octadecyl mercaptan provides microscale roughness. The nonpolar carbon chains of thiol cause the cotton to have a low surface energy. As reported, the combination of microscale roughness with low surface energy has a superhydrophobic effect on cotton, which leads to a high contact angle of 161.8° and sliding angle of 8°. Infrared spectroscopy, XPS, and SEM tests were used to characterize the chemical structure and morphological changes of the surface of cotton fabric before and after click reaction. The fabric after click reaction exhibited an oil–water mixture separation ability owing to its superhydrophobicity. Thus, the finished fabric could be used in the oil–water separation field. Importantly, the superhydrophobic textile displays resistance to laundering, mechanical abrasion, strong acidic and alkaline environments, and UV irradiation. We hope that this study can broaden the real-life applications of cotton fabric.
Highlights
Cellulose is the most abundant organic raw material [1], and cotton fabric is widely used in various industries
Superhydrophobic surfaces are used in the fields of self-cleaning, oil–water separation, anticorrosion, and antifog surfaces, so the preparation of superhydrophobic cotton fabric will broaden the application scope of this textile [4,5]
These results indicate that the acid-base treatment has a certain effect on the superhydrophobic performance of cotton fabric, but the cotton fabric still maintains a high hydrophobic significantly reduced, but it can still be maintained above 140, from 161.8 ± 1.5◦ toperformance
Summary
Cellulose is the most abundant organic raw material [1], and cotton fabric is widely used in various industries. Superhydrophobic surfaces are used in the fields of self-cleaning, oil–water separation, anticorrosion, and antifog surfaces, so the preparation of superhydrophobic cotton fabric will broaden the application scope of this textile [4,5]. Superhydrophobic surfaces are those with a static contact angle of more than 150◦ and a roll angle of less than 10◦ [6,7]. Superhydrophobic properties can be achieved on many substrate surfaces, including wood [8,9], sponge [10], fabric [11,12], paper [13], metal [14], and other substrates.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
