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Superhydrophobic fabrics from hybrid silica sol-gel coatings: Structural effect of precursors on wettability and washing durability

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journal contribution
posted on 2010-01-01, 00:00 authored by Hong Wang, J Ding, Y Xue, Xungai Wang, Tong Lin
Particle-containing silica sol was synthesized by co-hydrolysis and co-condensation of two silane precursors, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and an organic silane composed of a non-hydrolyzable functional group (e.g., alkyl, flourinated alkyl, and phenyl), and used to produce superhydrophobic coatings on fabrics. it has been revealed that the non-hydrolyzable functional groups in the organic silanes have a considerable influence on the fabric surface wettability. When the functional group was long chain alkyl (C16), phenyl, or flourinated alkyl (C8), the treated surfaces were highly superhydrophobic with a water contact angle (CA) greater than 170°, and the CA value was little affected by the fabric type. The washing durability of the superhydrophobic coating was improved by introducing the third silane containg epoxide group, 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxsilane (GPTMS), for synthesis. Although the presence of epoxide groups in the coating slightly reduced the fabrics' superhydrophobicity, the washing durability was considerably improved when polyester and cotton fabrics were used as substrates.

History

Journal

Journal of materials research

Volume

25

Pagination

1336 - 1343

Location

New York, N.Y.

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

0884-2914

eISSN

2044-5326

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2010, Cambridge University Press