Superhydrophobicity of cellulose triacetate fibrous mats produced by electrospinning and plasma treatment

Nano/micro-fibrous cellulose triacetate (CTA) mats were prepared by electrospinning a fixed concentration of CTA with different methylene chloride (MC)/ethanol (EtOH) ratios and with various concentrations of CTA at a fixed MC/EtOH 80/20 (v/v) ratio. All of the electrospun CTA mats had a high water contact angle (WCA) compared to the CTA cast film. At a solvent composition of 80/20 (v/v) and 5 wt.% CTA concentration, the CTA mat without plasma treatment had good surface roughness and electrospinning processability, and its WCA was 142°. To further improve its hydrophobicity, the CTA fibrous mat electrospun from the 5 wt.% solution of CTA was treated with a CF4 plasma for various times. Superhydrophobicity could be obtained after the CF4 plasma treatment. The WCA of the CTA mat reached as high as 153° after plasma treatment for 60 s.