Fabrication of multifunctional PET fabrics with flame retardant, antibacterial and superhydrophobic properties

•The multifunctional PET fabrics with flame retardant, antibacterial, and superhydrophobic properties were fabricated.•The washing resistance of the fabrics were increased by endowing hydrophobicity to obtain durable flame retardancy and antibacterial properties.•Polydopamine was used to introduce silver nanoparticles into the coating on the fabrics without adding an external reducing agent. The multifunctional polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabrics with flame retardant, antibacterial and superhydrophobic properties were successfully fabricated by a simple coating approach to enhance the properties of PET fabrics and to make them extensively applicable in a number of fields. The composite coating was composed of ammonium polyphosphate (APP), polydopamine (PDA), PDMS-silica (PDMS-SiO2), and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). ATR-FTIR spectra, XPS analysis, and SEM-EDS spectrometer were employed to investigate the morphological properties and constitution of these coatings. The flame retardant performance of the multifunctional PET fabrics was determined by LOI, vertical flame test (VFT) and cone calorimeter test (CCT). The results revealed that the APP@SiO2-PDA@Ag PET fabrics' LOI value reached 29.0 %, which was 9.5 % higher than that of pristine PET fabrics. Besides, the APP@SiO2-PDA@Ag PET fabrics could self-extinguish the fire quickly in the VFT. The peak heat release rate and total heat release of the APP@SiO2-PDA@Ag PET fabrics were 34 % and 26 % lower than those of the pristine one. Notably, the multifunctional PET fabrics had excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. The multifunctional fabrics exhibited superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) greater than 150° and showed excellent self-cleaning and antifouling properties. More importantly, the multifunctional PET fabrics still retained excellent flame retardant performance and antibacterial properties after multiple washing cycles.