Self-healing of the superhydrophobicity by ironing for the abrasion durable superhydrophobic cotton fabrics

A facile approach to fabricate room temperature intrinsic self-healing fabrics

Self-healing fabrics have garnered a lot of attention due to their recovering functionality upon damage. This work describes a facile technique for developing a novel self-healing coating with the goal of producing autonomous intrinsic self-healing fabrics that can recover from damage at room temperature without the use of external stimuli. The coating was developed using natural rubber latex (NRL) and consisted of a dynamic reversible metal thiolate ionic network. The formation of the reversible ionic network was assessed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and zeta potential analysis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed that the coating impregnated the fibres of the fabric and improved their structural integrity. The morphology of the punctured area revealed that intermolecular diffusion had occurred during the recovery and the sample had completely healed. The results also showed that the tensile strength, tear strength and puncture strength of the fabric achieved 100% healing efficiency when the damaged fabrics were brought into contact with each other and allowed to be healed at room temperature. This technology is expected to open up a new avenue in the textile industry.

Stable super-hydrophobic and comfort PDMS-coated polyester fabric

Super-hydrophobic fabrics have shown great potential during the last decade owing to their novel functions and enormous potential for diver’s applications. Surface textures and low surface energy coatings are the keys to high water repellency. However, the toxicity of nanomaterials, long perfluorinated side-chain polymers, and the fragile of micro/nano-texture lead to the super-hydrophobic surfaces are confined to small-scale uses. Thus, in this article, a stable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated super-hydrophobic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabric (PDMS-g-PET) is manufactured via dip-plasma crosslinking without changing the wearing comfort. Benefiting from the special wrinkled structure of PDMS film, the coating is durable enough against physical abrasion and repeated washing damage, which is suffered from 100 cycles of washing or 500 abrasion cycles, and the water contact angle is still above 150°. This study promotes the way for the development of environmentally friendly, safe, and cost-efficient for designing durable superhydrophobic coatings for various practical applications.

Preliminary Research: Validation of the Method of Evaluating Resistance to Surface Wetting with Liquid of Protective Materials Intended for Polymer Protective Gloves

The article presents validation argumentation of the novel method of evaluating resistance to surface wetting with different liquids of protective materials intended for polymer protective gloves based on the three parameters: water permeability index, non-wettability index and absorption index. Using our own method of evaluating resistance to surface wetting, it was shown that the knurled structure of the palm part of polymer protective gloves may inhibit transport of harmful and hazardous liquids outside the area of the protective glove. Currently, there is lack of objectifying methods for evaluation of surface wettability focused on the mentioned aspects. In view of the above facts, an original method for evaluating the resistance of protective materials to surface wetting with mineral oils and water has been invented and validated. It was assumed that the non-wettability index will be subjected to metrological analysis. Consequently, the validation process refers to this index. A precise assessment of the uncertainty budget of the individual components was obtained. On the basis of the obtained results, the measurement errors that may affect the quality and reliability of the test result performed in the laboratory were identified.

Earthworm-Inspired Ultradurable Superhydrophobic Fabrics from Adaptive Wrinkled Skin

Wrapped by periodically wrinkled skin, soft earthworm shows excellent robustness against sticky soil. Mimicking this deformation adaptability, here, we report an ultradurable superhydrophobic fabric by exploiting the formation of adaptive, soft wrinkled poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) skins. Uniform wrinkles are created on woven fabric fibers due to the surface instability of PDMS coating with a cross-linking gradient induced by Ar plasma treatment. Both the surface topography of wrinkles and the viscoelasticity of the underlying compliant layer to release stress endow the treated superhydrophobic fabrics with extraordinary durability, withstanding 800 standard laundries or 1000 rubbing cycles under 44.8 kPa. Additionally, superhydrophobic fabrics are self-healable after heating or plasma treatment. This insight of engineering soft skins with periodic submicron surface topography and gradient modulus provides a pathway for the design of ultradurable, multifunctional wearables.

Antisuperbug Cotton Fabric with Excellent Laundering Durability

Multidrug-resistant superbugs are currently a severe threat to public health. Here, we report a novel kind of antisuperbug material prepared by irradiation induced graft polymerization of 1-butyl-3-vinyl imidazole chloride onto cotton fabric. The reduction of superbugs on this fabric is higher than 99.9%. Attributed to the strong covalent bonding between the graft chains and the cellulose macromolecules, the antisuperbug performance did not decrease even after 150 equiv of domestic laundering cycles. Covalent bonding also prevented the release of the antibacterial groups during application and guarantees the safety of the material, which was proved by animal skin irritation and acute oral toxicity tests.

Covalent immobilization of metal-organic frameworks onto the surface of nylon--a new approach to the functionalization and coloration of textiles

The prevention of refractory organic pollution caused by conventional dyeing and the development of new fabrics with various functions are two issues to be solved urgently in the field of textile fabrication. Here, we report a new environmentally friendly route for the simultaneous coloration and functionalization of textiles by the covalent immobilization of a metal–organic framework, Cr-based MIL-101(Cr), onto the surfaces of nylon fabrics by co-graft polymerization with 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate initiated by γ-ray irradiation. The Cr(III) clusters color the nylon fabric, and the color intensity varies with the MIL-101 content, providing a “green” textile coloration method that is different from conventional dyeing processes. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the nanoporous structure of the original MIL-101 particles is retained during radiation-induced graft polymerization. Numerous nanopores are introduced onto the surface of the nylon fabric, which demonstrated better sustained-release-of-aroma performance versus pristine nylon fabric in tests. The modified fabrics exhibit laundering durability, with MIL-101 nanoparticles intact on the nylon surface after 30 h of dry cleaning.

Bioinspired Omniphobic Coatings with a Thermal Self-Repair Function on Industrial Materials

Inspired by the wax regeneration ability of plant leaves and the slippery surfaces of the Nepenthes pitcher plants, we have developed a new form of cross-species bioinspired slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (X-SLIPS) that can self-repair under thermal stimulation even under large-area physical and chemical damage. The performance and underlying mechanism of the thermal-healing property has been studied and characterized in detail. These thermally self-healing omniphobic coatings can be applied to a broad range of metals, plastics, glass, and ceramics of various shapes and show excellent repellency toward aqueous and organic liquids.

Recent advances in the mechanical durability of superhydrophobic materials

Large majority of superhydrophobic surfaces have very limited mechanical wear robustness and long-term durability. This problem has restricted their utilization in commercial or industrial applications and resulted in extensive research efforts on improving resistance against various types of wear damage. In this review, advances and developments since 2011 in this field will be covered. As such, we summarize progress on fabrication, design and understanding of mechanically durable superhydrophobic surfaces. This includes an overview of recently published diagnostic techniques for probing and demonstrating tribo-mechanical durability against wear and abrasion as well as other effects such as solid/liquid spray or jet impact and underwater resistance. The review is organized in terms of various types of mechanical wear ranging from substrate adhesion, tangential surface abrasion, and dynamic impact to ultrasonic processing underwater. In each of these categories, we highlight the most successful approaches to produce robust surfaces that can maintain their non-wetting state after the wear or abrasive action. Finally, various recommendations for improvement of mechanical wear durability and its quantitative evaluation are discussed along with potential future directions towards more systematic testing methods which will also be acceptable for industry.

Recent Progress in Fabrication and Applications of Superhydrophobic Coating on Cellulose-Based Substrates

Multifuntional fabrics with special wettability have attracted a lot of interest in both fundamental research and industry applications over the last two decades. In this review, recent progress of various kinds of approaches and strategies to construct super-antiwetting coating on cellulose-based substrates (fabrics and paper) has been discussed in detail. We focus on the significant applications related to artificial superhydrophobic fabrics with special wettability and controllable adhesion, e.g., oil-water separation, self-cleaning, asymmetric/anisotropic wetting for microfluidic manipulation, air/liquid directional gating, and micro-template for patterning. In addition to the anti-wetting properties and promising applications, particular attention is paid to coating durability and other incorporated functionalities, e.g., air permeability, UV-shielding, photocatalytic self-cleaning, self-healing and patterned antiwetting properties. Finally, the existing difficulties and future prospects of this traditional and developing field are briefly proposed and discussed.

“Lotus-effect” tape: imparting superhydrophobicity to solid materials with an electrospun Janus composite mat

Lotus-effect tape: a superhydrophobic surface was easily constructed by thermally taping an electrospun Janus composite mat onto various substrates.

Zirconia based superhydrophobic coatings on cotton fabrics exhibiting excellent durability for versatile use

A fluorinated silyl functionalized zirconia was synthesized by the sol-gel method to fabricate an extremely durable superhydrophobic coating on cotton fabrics by simple immersion technique. The fabric surfaces firmly attached with the coating material through covalent bonding, possessed superhydrophobicity with high water contact angle ≈163 ± 1°, low hysteresis ≈3.5° and superoleophilicity. The coated fabrics were effective to separate oil/water mixture with a considerably high separation efficiency of 98.8 wt% through ordinary filtering. Presence of highly stable (chemically and mechanically) superhydrophobic zirconia bonded with cellulose makes such excellent water repelling ability of the fabrics durable under harsh environment conditions like high temperature, strong acidic or alkaline solutions, different organic solvents and mechanical forces including extensive washings. Moreover, these coated fabrics retained self-cleanable superhydrophobic property as well as high water separation efficiency even after several cycles, launderings and abrasions. Therefore, such robust superhydrophobic ZrO₂ coated fabrics have strong potential for various industrial productions and uses.

Electrical Switchability and Dry-Wash Durability of Conductive Textiles

There is growing interest in the area of conductive textiles in the scientific and industrial community. Herein, we successfully prepared a conductive textile via covalently grafting polyaniline (PANI) onto cotton by a multi-step treatment process. The conductivity of the resultant fabric could be tuned by immersing in water having different pH values. The conductive and insulating properties of the textile could be conveniently switched by alternately immersing in acidic and alkaline bath solutions. Most importantly, the resultant conductive fabrics were able to withstand 40 simulated dry-wash cycles, with almost no decay in the electrical conductivity, indicating their excellent dry-wash durability. The present strategy for fabricating conductive fabrics with excellent switchability of electrical properties and dry-wash durability is expected to provide inspiration for the production of multifunctional conductive textiles for use in hash or sensitive conditions.

One-step modification of fabrics with bioinspired polydopamine@octadecylamine nanocapsules for robust and healable self-cleaning performance

An in-situ polymerization to coat fabrics with polydopamine-encapsulated octadecylamine endows the fabrics with self-cleaning and self-healing abilities. The treated fabric exhibits self-healing after losing its hydrophobicity. It is durable against washing and mechanical abrasion without changing the hydrophobicity. Thanks to the versatile adhesive property of polydopamine, the approach is compatibile with a variety of substrates, such as fabrics, glass, sponge, paper, and polymeric materials.

A multifunctional transparent superhydrophobic gel nanocoating with self-healing properties

A multifunctional green superhydrophobic gel nanocoating with good transparency and stability was obtained through a facile copolymerization reaction. Importantly, this well-designed nanocoating has self-healing superhydrophobicity to face complicated daily life and industry work conditions. It is applicable to various substrates via a simple spray process.

Designing breathable superhydrophobic cotton fabrics

Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics were prepared through radiation induced graft polymerization by applying a series of alkyl methacrylates as the functional monomers.

Laundering durable antibacterial cotton fabrics grafted with pomegranate-shaped polymer wrapped in silver nanoparticle aggregations

To improve the laundering durability of the silver functionalized antibacterial cotton fabrics, a radiation-induced coincident reduction and graft polymerization is reported herein where a pomegranate-shaped silver nanoparticle aggregations up to 500 nm can be formed due to the coordination forces between amino group and silver and the wrapping procedure originated from the coincident growth of the silver nanoparticles and polymer graft chains. This pomegranate-shaped silver NPAs functionalized cotton fabric exhibits outstanding antibacterial activities and also excellent laundering durability, where it can inactivate higher than 90% of both E. coli and S. aureus even after 50 accelerated laundering cycles, which is equivalent to 250 commercial or domestic laundering cycles.

Washable and wear-resistant superhydrophobic surfaces with self-cleaning property by chemical etching of fibers and hydrophobization

Superhydrophobic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) textile surfaces with a self-cleaning property were fabricated by treating the microscale fibers with alkali followed by coating with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that alkali treatment etched the PET and resulted in nanoscale pits on the fiber surfaces, making the textiles have hierarchical structures. Coating of PDMS on the etched fibers affected little the roughening structures while lowered the surface energy of the fibers, thus making the textiles show slippery superhydrophobicity with a self-cleaning effect. Wettability tests showed that the superhydrophobic textiles were robust to acid/alkaline etching, UV irradiation, and long-time laundering. Importantly, the textiles maintained superhydrophobicity even when the textiles are ruptured by severe abrasion. Also colorful images could be imparted to the superhydrophobic textiles by a conventional transfer printing without affecting the superhydrophobicity.