Study of Oleophobic Modification of Fiber Material Surface and Its Performance

Abstract

In recent years, remarkable development and progresses have been made on the study of oleophobic modification of fibers. Modified oleophobic fibers have broad application prospects not only owing to their important uses in daily life, but also their extraordinary use in the fields of defense science and technology, and medical health care. In this study, fluorine-containing acrylate (FP) emulsion was synthesized via emulsion polymerization method using perfluorooctyl acrylate (PFOA) as the fluorine-containing monomer, and butyl acrylate (BA) and styrene (St) as the basic monomers. In addition, SiO2 hydrosol was also prepared by water-based sol-gel reaction using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the precursor. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, particle size analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and contact angle measurement were used to characterize the structural morphology and thermal stability of the FP polymer. The as-obtained FP and SiO2/FP were coated on cotton fabrics by the impregnation-curing method, successfully affording the cotton fabrics with oleophobic property. The application performance of the fabrics before and after finishing were measured and analyzed, and the effect of rubbing and soap washing on the oleophobic property of the fabrics were investigated. Then property changes, such as the anti-ultraviolet property, whiteness, breathability, and breaking strength, of the fabrics before and after finishing were investigated. The results showed that the FP finishing agent exhibited excellent thermal property and satisfied the basic requirements for the fabrics finishing agents. The oleophobic property of the fabrics after FP emulsion finishing achieved grade 5, with no wettability to n-dodecane. The oleophobic property of the SiO2/FP treated fabrics was better than those of the FP treated fabrics, indicating that the roughen treatment of cotton fabrics surfaces using silica sol first and then coating with FP improved the oleophobic property. The combined actions of the coarse surface structure provided by SiO2 nanoparticles and the low surface energy of the fluorine-containing polymers afforded the cotton fabric surfaces with oleophobic property. The treated fabrics retained good oleophobic performance after multiple times of water washing and rubbings, and the physical mechanical properties of the cotton fabrics did not change much before and after finishing, and thus did not affect the clothing performance of the cotton fabrics.