Facile fabrication of robust and healable superhydrophobic cotton fabric with flower-like Ni(OH)2@ODA micro-nanoparticles

Surfaces with robust and healable superhydrophobicity have attracted much attention in recent years due to an improved life-time. Herein, flower-like nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH) 2 ) micro-nanoparticles are prepared and used as reservoirs to load octadecylamine (ODA). Superhydrophobic cotton fabric is fabricated by dip-coating ODA modified Ni(OH) 2 particles (Ni(OH) 2 @ODA) using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as hydrophobic binder. The influence of Ni(OH) 2 @ODA content on the surface morphology and wettability of the fabric is systematically investigated. The modification processes do not cause any discernable decrease in the mechanical and thermal properties of the fabric. The fabric exhibits excellent antifouling and self-cleaning performances, and can maintain superhydrophobicity after 700 abrasion cycles, strong acidic or alkaline corrosion and long-term UV exposure. It can effectively separate different oil–sea water mixtures with high separation efficiency, high flux and good reusability. Significantly, the superhydrophobicity of a damaged fabric surface from O 2 plasma treatment can be automatically restored within 6 h at room temperature and 60 min at 50 °C. This facile and effective strategy may be useful for the development of robust protective clothing for various applications. Graphic abstract