Production of Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric by Layer-By-Layer Deposition of SiO2/TiO2-Polydimethylsiloxane

Abstract

In this study, the aim was to produce superhydrophobic cotton fabric by TiO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles, and polydimethylsiloxane using layer-by-layer deposition method. It was found that the increase in the bilayer number and PDMS concentration improved superhydrophobicity. In this way, water contact angle values higher than 150° were provided. The scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses demonstrated the formation of surface roughness. Moreover, the physical fabric tests and water and stain repellency tests were also carried out. L-b-L deposited samples were found to be softer and had high water and stain repellency values. The durability of the coatings to washing was also confirmed.

Keywords

• cotton
• layer-by-layer coating
• tio2
• sio2
• polydimethylsiloxane
• superhydrophobicity