Robust superhydrophobic TiO2@fabrics for UV shielding, self-cleaning and oil–water separation

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.