Fabrication of robust superhydrophobic fabrics based on coating with PVDF/PDMS

The functionalization of fabrics is important in both academic research and industrial areas. In this work, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabrics were dipped into a solution of PVDF and PDMS in DMF/THF to coat fibers with PVDF/PDMS. Then, the as-coated fabrics with wet PVDF/PDMS were squeezed to remove the residual liquid with a scraping bar and put into a non-solvent water to induce roughening of the PVDF/PDMS coatings on the fibers, through a phase inversion process to obtain robust superhydrophobic PET fabrics. The obtained fabrics show a water contact angle of 164.4 degrees +/- 2.1 degrees and a slide angle less than 4 degrees. The superhydrophobicity of the fabrics was chemically stable in both acidic and alkaline solution, and could endure prolonged UV irradiation. In addition, after 5000 abrasion cycles or 150 times laundering, the coating still maintained superhydrophobicity and had a relatively low sliding angle. Also, the superhydrophobic fabrics displayed excellent self-cleaning properties. This simple process without using expensive equipment can be applied into the practical production of PET fabrics.