Robust superhydrophobic TiO2@fabrics for UV shielding, self-cleaning and oil–water separation. Issue 6 (19th December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huang, J. Y.; Li, S. H.; Ge, M. Z.; Wang, L. N.; Xing, T. L.; Chen, G. Q.; Liu, X. F.; Al-Deyab, S. S.; Zhang, K. Q.; Chen, T.; Lai, Y. K.
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 3:Issue 6(2015)
• Page Start: 2825
• Page End: 2832
• Publication Date: 2014-12-19
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/c4ta05332j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : Multifunctional robust TiO2 @fabrics with special wettability demonstrated potential applications for excellent UV shielding, effective self-cleaning, efficient oil–water separation and microfluidic management. Abstract : Inspired by the surface geometry and composition of the lotus leaf with its self-cleaning behavior, in this work, a TiO2 @fabric composite was prepared via a facile strategy for preparing marigold flower-like hierarchical TiO2 particles through a one-pot hydrothermal reaction on a cotton fabric surface. In addition, a robust superhydrophobic TiO2 @fabric was further constructed by fluoroalkylsilane modification as a versatile platform for UV shielding, self-cleaning and oil–water separation. The results showed TiO2 particles were uniformly distributed on the fibre surface with a high coating density. In comparison with hydrophobic cotton fabric, the TiO2 @fabric exhibited a high superhydrophobic activity with a contact angle of ∼160° and a sliding angle lower than 10°. The robust superhydrophobic fabric had high stability against repeated abrasion without an apparent reduction in contact angle. The as-prepared composite TiO2 @fabric demonstrated good anti-UV ability. Moreover, the composite fabric demonstrated highly efficient oil–water separation due to its extreme wettability contrast (superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity). We expect that this facile process can be readily and widely adopted for the design of multifunctional fabrics for excellent anti-UV, effective self-cleaning, efficient oil–water separation, and microfluidic management applications.