A polydopamine-bridged hierarchical design for fabricating flame-retarded, superhydrophobic, and durable cotton fabric

Superhydrophobic fireproof coatings have attracted considerable attention owing to their multifunctional applications in academic and industrial areas. In this work, a sustainable, superhydrophobic, and fire-resistant nanocoating based on polydopamine (PDA) was successfully fabricated, and its application to cotton was explored. The Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectra confirmed that the framework of APP@PDA nanocoating was successfully constructed of alternate layers. Remarkably, assessment of the thermal and flammability properties for the pristine and nanocoated cotton fabric demonstrated that APP@PDA-coated cotton fabric exhibited highly efficient flame-retardant performance reflected by 59.6% reduction in peak heat release rate and 25.7% reduction in total heat release by virtue of a 260nm thick charring layer formed during burning. Besides, the nanocoated cotton fabric maintained its superhydrophobicity and retained its excellent water repellent properties after treating by dodecyl mercaptan. All these fascinating characteristics would boost this nanocoated cotton for high-performance application. [GRAPHICS] .