Superhydrophobic and Photocatalytic Self-Cleaning Cotton Fabrics Coated with SiO2–TiO2 Janus Particles and PDMS

Cotton fabrics are susceptible to contamination in daily use. Herein, this study developed a scalable and benign strategy to impart superhydrophobic and photocatalytic properties to cotton fabrics by impregnating SiO 2 –TiO 2 Janus particles (SiO 2 –TiO 2 JPs) and silicone elastomer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). SiO 2 –TiO 2 Janus particles were synthesized by Pickering template method. The obtained cotton fabrics exhibited good superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle (WCA) of 155° as well as mechanical and chemical stability. The modified fabrics maintained their superhydrophobic properties against 30 cycles of mechanical abrasion, 15 cycles of tape peeling, and 24 h of UV aging. They also had good resistance to n-hexane, acetone, acid/alkali liquids. The degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) was up to 63% after 6 h of UV irradiation and still 48% after 5 cycles of degradation. The facile approach in favor of large-scale preparation showed promising potential for wide application of flexible, superhydrophobic cotton fabrics with self-cleaning performance.