A durable and sustainable superhydrophobic surface with intertwined cellulose/SiO2 blends for anti-icing and self-cleaning applications

• Main Authors: Huang, J.-T (Author), Li, P. (Author), Wang, Y. (Author), Zhang, Q. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2022
• Subjects: Anti-icing; Cellulose; Chemical stability; Coatings; Contact angle; Cotton; Cotton fabrics; Durability; Hydrophobicity; Mass ratio; Morphology; Nanostructures; Non-toxic; Oxidized cellulose; Polydimethylsiloxane; Self cleaning; Self-Cleaning; Silica; Silicon; Silicones; Superhydrophobic; Superhydrophobic coatings; Super-hydrophobic surfaces; Surface morphology; Sustainable; Thermal polymerizations; Toxic chemicals; Wear resistance
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Poor wear resistance and the use of toxic chemicals restrict the marketization of most traditional superhydrophobic surfaces. The present work provides a method to prepare a durable and non-toxic superhydrophobic coating on the surface of a cotton fabric. Thermal polymerization of spray drying was used to obtain uniform structure of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose (TOC) with nano silica (SiO2), for achieving well-combined rough sphere-like micron particles with hierarchical dimensions, which were then immersed into isocyanate (IPDI) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) respectively along with cotton fabric to construct a superhydrophobic coating on the fabric surface. The surface morphology, chemical structure, roughness and wettability of TOC-SiO2/PDMS surface were studied by adjusting the mass ratios of SiO2 to TOC. The optimal superhydrophobicity was obtained while the mass ratio of SiO2 to TOC was 1:1, displaying a water contact angle (CA) of 158.6°. The introduction of the intertwined TOC-SiO2 blends can construct a hierarchical micro-nano structure to enhance the hydrophobicity, simultaneously improve the mechanical durability of the superhydrophobic surface to prevent multiple peeling and friction damage, as well as outstanding chemical stability in a variety of harsh conditions. © 2022