CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.3390/gels9020109

Super-Hydrophobicity of Polyester Fabrics Driven by Functional Sustainable Fluorine-Free Silane-Based Coatings

Sfameni, Silvia; Lawnick, Tim; Rando, Giulia; Visco, Annamaria; Textor, Torsten; Plutino, Maria Rosaria

Department of Engineering, University of Messina, Contrada di Dio, S. Agata, 98166 Messina, Italy Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials, ISMN-CNR, Palermo, c/o Department ChiBioFarAm, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy TEXOVERSUM School of Textiles, Reutlingen University, 72762 Reutlingen, Germany Department of ChiBioFarAm, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, Vill. S. Agata, 98166 Messina, Italy Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials CNR IPCB, Via Paolo Gaifami 18, 9-95126 Catania, Italy

Polyester fibers are widely employed in a multitude of sectors and applications from the technical textiles to everyday life thanks to their durability, strength, and flexibility. Despite these advantages, polyester lacks in dyeability, adhesion of coating, hydrophilicity, and it is characterized by a low wettability respect to natural fibers. On this regard, beyond the harmful hydrophobic textile finishings of polyester fabrics containing fluorine-compounds, and in order to avoid pre-treatments, such as laser irradiation to improve their surface properties, research is moving towards the development of fluorine-free and safer coatings. In this work, the (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and various long alkyl-chain alkoxysilanes were employed for the fabrication in the presence of a catalyst of a water-based superhydrophobic finishing for polyester fabrics with a simple sol-gel, non-fluorinated, sustainable approach and the dip-pad-dry-cure method. The finished polyester fabrics surface properties were investigated by static and dynamic water repellency tests. Additionally, the resistance to common water-based liquids, abrasion resistance, moisture adsorption, and air permeability measurements were performed. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to examine the micro- and nano-morphology of the functionalized polyester fabrics surfaces. The obtained superhydrophobic finishings displayed high water-based stain resistance as well as good hydrophobicity after different cycles of abrasion.

GELS 9 (2), pp. 109–?