Superoleophobic Cotton Textiles

Boxun Leng, Zhengzhong Shao, Gijsbertus de With, Weihua Ming, Marshall Ming

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

299 Scopus citations

Abstract

Common cotton textiles are hydrophilic and oleophilic in nature. Superhydrophobic cotton textiles have the potential to be used as self-cleaning fabrics, but they typically are not super oil-repellent. Poor oil repellency may easily compromise the self-cleaning property of these fabrics. Here, we report on the preparation of superoleophobic cotton textiles based on a multilength-scale structure, as demonstrated by a high hexadecane contact angle (153° for 5 μL droplets) and low roll-off angle (9° for 20 μL droplets). The multilength-scale roughness was based on the woven structure, with additional two layers of silica particles (microparticles and nanoparticles, respectively) covalently bonded to the fiber. Superoleophobicity was successfully obtained by incorporating perfluoroalkyl groups onto the surface of the modified cotton. It proved to be essential to add the nanoparticle layer in achieving superoleophobicity, especially in terms of low roll-off angles for hexadecane.
Original languageAmerican English
JournalLangmuir
Volume25
StatePublished - 2009

Keywords

  • Cotton Textiles
  • Self-Cleaning Fabrics
  • Superoleophobic

DC Disciplines

  • Chemistry

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