Low-temperature silane coupling agent modified biomimetic micro/nanoscale roughness hierarchical structure superhydrophobic polyethylene terephthalate filter media

A hierarchical structure similar to “lotus leaf surface” has attracted widespread attention due to its excellent hydrophobic properties. Herein, using low-temperature sol–gel method prepared superhydrophobic SiO 2 particles with biomimetic lotus leaf micro/nanoscale hierarchical structure (BRHS), which were formed in situ on the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber, and endowing PET-based composite filter media (P-Filter) superhydrophobic property. After different TEOS@MTES@ KH550 (TMK) modification treatments, SiO 2 particles were wrapped on the P-Filter, and the microscopic pore structure was changed significantly. When the mass ratio of TEOS/MTES (TM) reached 4/2, KH550 modified SiO 2 nanoparticles displayed the widest particle size distribution. In this case, the PET (TMK@PET-4) fibers exhibited rough morphology of BRHS, the contact angle (WCA) reached 160.9 ± 2.8°, and the shedding angle (WSA) was 5.9 ± 2.5°, which reaching a superhydrophobic state. Also, the TMK@PET-4 filter material demonstrated best comprehensive filtration performance for PM 0.3 ( η : 99.12%, Δ P : 58 Pa, Q F : 0.0816), 36.96% higher than the original PET filter, and had excellent mechanical stability and self-cleaning properties. Therefore, the presented simple method has a guiding significance in producing superhydrophobic P-Filter, a potential value for the research and development of bag-type dust removal materials in high-humidity environments.