Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabrics with UV Protection Based on CeO₂ Particles

Abstract

Water repellency and ultraviolet (UV) protection are desirable properties for textiles. In this paper, the cotton fabrics were first treated with CeO2 sol and then modified with a layer of dodecafluoroheptyl-propyl-trimethoxylsilane (DFTMS). The as-obtained cotton sample was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angle measurement, and UV−vis spectrophotometry. The modified cotton surface not only exhibited robust superhydrophobicity with a high contact angle of 158° and low roll-off angle of 14° for 5-μL water droplets, but also rendered excellent protection against UV radiation because of incorporation of CeO2 particles.