Superhydrophobicity, Self-cleaning and Flame Retardancy Properties of Cotton Fabric

A simple and facile method for fabricating the cotton fabric with superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning and flame retardancy was described in the present work. Three types of antimony pentoxide sol (Sb 2 O 5 ), aluminum hydroxide sol (Al(OH) 3 ) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (fluoroalkyl silanes) were used as coating for the cotton fabric. It was found that Sb 2 O 5 and Al(OH) 3 exhibited significant synergistic effects on the flame retardancy. When the weight ratio of Sb 2 O 5 /Al(OH) 3 (content 30 wt%) was 1:3, the results showed that the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value was 45.1 %, smoke density (SDR) value was 35 %, and it still passed UL94 V-0 rating. The cotton fabrics coated with fluoroalkyl silanes/Sb 2 O 5 / Al(OH) 3 showed a superhydrophobicity, anti-contamination and self-cleaning properties. In addition, the results exhibited the outstanding superhydrophobicity, oil/water separation, excellent waterproofing durability and flame retardancy of cotton fabric after 1000 cycles of washing by water, the LOI value was 40.1 %, SDR value was 39 % and WCA was 152° after 1000 cycles of washing. We believe that this simple, environmentally friendly and versatile fabrication of the cotton fabric had excellent real-life applications.