Fluorine-free, short-process and robust superhydrophobic cotton fabric and its oil-water separation ability

Superhydrophobic (SH) fabric is widely used in production and life because of its excellent water repellency, self-cleaning, and anti-fouling properties, however, long process and poor durability against repeated laundering and abrasion of SH fabrics remain challenges. In this study, we report a fluorine-free, short-process and robust SH cotton fabric obtained by dip-coating with SH coatings based on UV induced thiol–ene click reactions among 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (MPTES), octavinyloctasilasesquioxane (OV-POSS) and 2 %–3 % (mercaptopropyl)methylsiloxane-dimethylsiloxane co-polymers (S-PDMS), and the coated fabric is enough durable against repeated laundering, abrasion, chemical corrosion and UV aging. Furthermore, its self-healing ability owing to heat treatment (140 °C, 30 min) can further improve the coating durability, based on which the coating can withstand at least 28 cycles of repeated accelerated washing (equivalent to 140 cycles of normal home laundering) and maintain its superhydrophobicity. Additionally, the coating can separate oil-water mixtures, and the separation efficiency is more than 99 %, even after 10 cycles of repeated oil-water separation processes. The combination of short-process and self-healing ability makes it very promising in the large-scale manufacturing and application of SH surfaces.