A facile approach for fabricating fluorine-free superhydrophobic cotton fabric and its self-cleaning property

Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics have received much attention in recent years. They have been constructed usually by lowering surface energy and increasing surface roughness. Because of the significant environmental harm caused by fluorine-containing reagents, difficult preparation techniques, and low wear resistance, finding a simple approach to prepare a fluorine-free, wear-resistant, strongly sticky superhydrophobic cotton fabric remains a challenge. In this study, we describe a fluorine-free superhydrophobic cotton fabric using the simple preparation approach of immersion, which creates nanoscale siloxane aggregates dispersible in organic solvents. The modified cotton fabrics are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, fourier-transform infrared, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Excellent superhydrophobicity (ultrahigh water contact angle is 165.2° and sliding angle is 7.2° as well as excellent self-cleaning properties) has been easily applied to cotton fabrics. Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics also have good anti-fouling properties for many common types of liquids, such as milk, coffee, cola, etc. It has been established that these waterproof coatings exhibit outstanding mechanical endurance against water impact, abrasion, and laundering. Superhydrophobic fabrics have a wide range of possible uses due to their readily available coating materials, simple application technique, and strong mechanical endurance. Graphical abstract