Hexadecylamine Modified Copper Nanowire Coated Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric for Antifouling, Oil-water Separation, and Infrared Reflection Applications

Superhydrophobic surfaces by creating surface roughness followed by coating with low-surface-energy fluorinated materials have been intensively developed on cotton fabrics. However, exploring superhydrophobic surfaces with non-fluorine components and further improving their attachment with cotton fabrics is still challenging. Herein, we developed a superhydrophobic surface on cotton fabric by dip coating with hexadecylamine (HDA) modified copper nanowires (Cu NWs) based on the coordination between Cu atoms and amine groups. The HDA modified Cu NWs not only created surface roughness, but also decreased the surface energy, leading to a superhydrophobic cotton fabric with water contact angle of 164 °±2.0 °. Furthermore, ultrasonic washing and tape peeling tests exhibited the Cu NWs were adhered tightly to the surface of cotton fibers, owing to the strong hydrogen bond between amine groups on HDA molecules and hydroxyl groups on cotton fibers. In addition, the superhydrophobic cotton fabric showed excellent antifouling, oil-water separation and infrared reflection properties. It is believed that this facile method provide promising industrial applications for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces on other substrates.