Super pressure-resistant superhydrophobic fabrics with real self-cleaning performance
Ning Tian,
Kai Chen,
Hui Yu,
Jinfei Wei,
Junping Zhang
Affiliations
Ning Tian
Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Kai Chen
Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Hui Yu
Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Jinfei Wei
Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
Junping Zhang
Center of Eco-material and Green Chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; Corresponding author
Summary: Detergents are extensively used for laundry, causing significant negative impacts on water bodies, plants and animals. Superhydrophobic fabrics are promising to reduce detergent consumption but suffer from low pressure resistance. Here, we report super pressure-resistant superhydrophobic fabrics prepared using polysiloxane modified SiO2 nanoparticles with epoxy groups. The fabrics show real self-cleaning performance, essentially different from the conventional self-cleaning property of solid particles loosely placed on superhydrophobic surfaces. The contaminated fabrics by various stains can be completely cleaned by home machine laundering without using any detergent whereas the traditional superhydrophobic fabrics cannot. This is owing to excellent abrasion and washing durability, low liquid adhesion force, superior pressure-resistance and vapor-resistance of the fabrics, originating from the low surface energy and dense micro-/nanostructure. Moreover, the superhydrophobic fabrics can be scaled up using the conventional fabric finishing line with low cost. The superhydrophobic fabrics will help significantly reduce the global detergent consumption.
