Abstract
The existing coating systems used for the preparation of super-hydrophobic surfaces are facing new challenges because the use of organic solvents and long-carbon-chain organic fluorine monomers is banned. In this article, the authors have proven that by using inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with argon (Ar), which is a completely dry process, lauryl methacrylate (LMA) can produce a stable super-hydrophobic coating effect. The effect of electron temperature on the super-hydrophobicity of cotton fabrics is investigated in terms of water repellency, chemical composition, and surface morphology. It is found that the improvement in the hydrophobicity of cotton fabric is attributed to the deposition of alkyl and ester groups, and the formation of a micro–nano-structure on the surface of the fabric after plasma treatment. The electron temperature plays an important role in achieving the super-hydrophobicity of cotton fabrics. The plasma-enhanced coating may offer a safe and dry super-hydrophobic technique with diverse applications.
Highlights
In recent years, research on natural fabrics with high hydrophobicity has attracted significant attention due to the unique characteristics of these fabrics, such as self-cleaning, anti-contamination, and anti-sticking [1]
We report a technically simple plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method to deposit a super-hydrophobic film on cotton fabrics, aiming to find the relationship between the plasma electron temperature and hydrophobicity
Argon (≥99.999%) gas was supplied by Shanghai
Summary
Research on natural fabrics with high hydrophobicity has attracted significant attention due to the unique characteristics of these fabrics, such as self-cleaning, anti-contamination, and anti-sticking [1]. Super-hydrophobicity, with a water contact angle (WCA) above 150◦ and a sliding angle (SA) below 10◦ , demonstrates the self-cleaning performance of cotton fabrics, which is one of the most desirable textile properties of cotton fabrics for outdoor sports or medical clothing textiles [4,5]. Many inherent voids and veins with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 μm are found among all cotton yarns These interwoven yarns, veins, and voids lead to an inherently micro-scaled texture, which can be further decorated with secondary nanostructures and hydrophobic molecules to make it super-hydrophobic [7,8,9]
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