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Nature-Inspired Fluorine-Free Robust Superhydrophobic Fabrics

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Abstract

The practical implementation of superhydrophobic surfaces in oil–water separation, antifouling, and self-cleaning has been severely hampered by the incorporation of hazardous components and their limited durability. In this study, a straightforward immersion process was employed to incorporate different-sized ZnO particles onto a nonwoven substrate, resulting in the creation of a multi-layered nano-rough structure. Subsequently, polydimethylsiloxane was utilized for hydrophobic modification, aiming to decrease the free energy of the fabric surface and establish a durable covalent bond between the coating and the fabric through a cross-linking reaction during the curing process. Ultimately, the successful fabrication of superhydrophobic textiles with exceptional robustness was achieved. The prepared fabrics exhibited a static water contact angle of 163.9°. Besides, a considerable mechanical stability to withstand 80 sandpaper abrasion cycles, and chemical resistance with sustained superhydrophobic property in various harsh environments (e.g., strong acid/base solutions, and various organic solvents), were presented. Furthermore, the fabricated fabric demonstrated a separation efficiency exceeding 90% and a contact angle greater than 150° even after 50 cycles when utilized as a filter for oil–water separation. This remarkable performance can be attributed to its exceptional stain resistance and self-cleaning property.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article, and the data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the financial support for this work from the Doctoral Initiation Program at Huizhou University (Project No: 2021JB036), and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2022A1515140036). We appreciate Feng Qianqian from the College of glorious sun guangdong school of fashion of Huizhou University for her help with the experiment.

Funding

This article is funded by the Doctoral Initiation Program at Huizhou University, 2021JB036, Jiating Wen, and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, 2022A1515140036, Fanglong Zhu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Glorious Sun Guangdong School of Fashion, Huizhou University, Huizhou, 516007, China

    Jiating Wen, Peilan Li & Fanglong Zhu

Authors
  1. Jiating Wen
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  2. Peilan Li
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  3. Fanglong Zhu
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Contributions

JW: formal analysis, validation, funding acquisition, project administration, writing—original draft. PL: formal analysis, validation. FZ: writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Jiating Wen or Fanglong Zhu.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Wen, J., Li, P. & Zhu, F. Nature-Inspired Fluorine-Free Robust Superhydrophobic Fabrics. Fibers Polym 25, 1243–1251 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-024-00497-5

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