Preparation of Fluorine-Free Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric with Polyacrylate/SiO₂ Nanocomposite

Fluorine-free superhydrophobic cotton fabric was fabricated by coating polyacrylate (PA)/SiO₂ nanocomposite. PA/SiO₂ nanocomposite was prepared based on the modified SiO₂ nanoparticles with double bonds and hexadecyl groups by solution polymerization of butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and octadecylmethacrylate (OMA). The obtained cotton fabric showed excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 152.2±0.4° and a water shedding angle of 8.0±0.2°, due to the simultaneous introduction of surface topography constructed by modified SiO₂ nanoparticles and low surface free energy PA adhesive layer and hexadecyl groups onto cotton fibers. The as-obtained products were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and size distribution analysis. The obtained superhydrophobic fabric coated by PA/SiO₂ demonstrated good mechanical stability and self-cleaning. The PA/SiO₂ coating treatment caused little loss in the tensile strength, breathability, and whiteness of the treated fabric. This approach with improved human/environmental friendliness can pave the potential way for the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces.