Fabrication of superhydrophobic cotton fabrics by a simple chemical modification

Abstract

Hydrophobization of cotton fabrics was carried out with the use of bifunctional polysiloxanes with various contents of functional groups. Polysiloxanes contained in their structure groups capable of bonding to substrates (trialkoxysilyl or glycidyl ones) and fluoroalkyl groups showing surface activity. Two methods of surface modification were compared: (1) a one-step method via the chemical modification of fabrics with solutions of bifunctional polysiloxanes and (2) a two-step method—via preliminary modification of fabrics with silica sol followed by chemical modification with solutions of bifunctional polysiloxanes. The hydrophobicity was determined by measuring the water contact angle by drop profile tensiometry. Changes in the surface topography were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Superhydrophobic fabrics were obtained by a simple one-step method by the chemical modification in solutions of bifunctional polysiloxanes. The fabrics maintained their superhydrophobic properties even after multiple washings. The modification does not cause any changes visible to the naked eye, such as stiffening, color changes or a decrease in mechanical properties.