Preparation and Characterization of Fluorine-free Superhydrophobic and UV-resistant Cotton Fabric

In this work, the superhydrophobic and UV-resistant cotton fabrics were fabricated via combining the nano titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and silicone oil. The nano-TiO 2 makes cotton fabrics possess outstanding ultraviolet (UV) resistance property, while increases the micro and nano size rough structure on the surface of cotton fabric. Then the cotton fabric was hydrophobically treated with silicone oil to make it superhydrophobic. The chemical constituents, structures, superhydrophobic and UV-resistant performance of cotton fabrics were analyzed. The cotton fabric treated with titanium dioxide and silicone oil not only showed excellent superhydrophobicity, but also displayed good UV-resistant ability. Water contact angle and UPF value can reach 161.32° and 55.17 respectively. Such multifunctional cotton fabric has broad commercial application prospects.