Highly permeable, directional water transport cotton fabrics

A novel concept of preparing directional water transport cotton fabrics with high air permeability even if at a fully wetted state is demonstrated here. A two-step electrospraying technique is employed to form a superhydrophobic pattern array on cotton fabric at the first step followed by single-side electrospray treatment. The superhydrophobic pattern plays key roles not only in maintaining the cotton fabric at a high air permeability in wet state but also in enhancing one-way transport capacity. In comparison to the single side electrosprayed fabric, which shows directional water transport property without superhydrophobic pattern, the one with a superhydrophobic pattern has 1.89 times higher one-way transport index, whereas its air permeability is just reduced by 1.8% when it is wetted with water. This novel concept may be useful for design of high performance moisture management fabrics for various applications.