Fabrication of Durably Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabrics by Polystyrene Latex Particles and Polydimethylsiloxane via Mist Polymerization Technology.

In this work, the durable superhydrophobic cotton fabric was successfully constructed by coated with polystyrene (PS) latex particles and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via mist polymerization finishing technology. As a result, the water contact angle (WCA) of the finished fabric was arrived at 158.1°, reaching the superhydrophobic level. Even the finished fabric after withstand 1400 abrasion cycles or 50 washing cycles, the WCA values of treated fabric were also higher than 154.0°, exhibiting excellent mechanical durability. In addition, the superhydrophobic surface of finished fabric was also showed outstanding chemical durability. The finished fabric with such excellent superhydrophobic properties was showed good oil-water separation properties, the separation efficiency (η) values of the SCF-2 sample as a filter material for chloroform/water and n-hexane/water mixtures were reached 99.6 % and 99.1 %, respectively. Moreover, even the SCF-2 sample after withstand 50 separation cycles for mixtures, the η values were not obviously reduced. The finished fabric was also showed outstanding self-cleaning properties. More interesting that the desired properties of finished fabric were not obviously reduced after the finishing process. Therefore, in consideration of its amazing performances, it is expected that the finished fabric can be used as a promising material for self-cleaning, oil-water separation, and other potential application areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]