Robust Superhydrophobic and Photocatalytic Cotton Fabrics Based on TiO2-SiO2-PDMS Composite Coating

In this work, self-cleaning cotton fabrics were prepared based on the TiO2-SiO2-Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites. TiO2-SiO2 composites were synthesized by depositing TiO2 nanocrystals onto preformed porous SiO2 and PDMS was used to enhance the linkage between TiO2-SiO2 composites and cotton fabrics. The TiO2-SiO2-PDMS composites coated cotton fabrics show superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 157°because of the abundant of methyl groups and hierarchical roughness features of the coated cotton fabrics. Meanwhile, the TiO2-SiO2-PDMS composites coated cotton fabrics display photocatalytic property, which were analyzed based on the removal and degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet light. Abrasion resistance test indicates that the coating possesses a good mechanically durability.