Fabrication of water repellent cotton fabric by coating nano particle impregnated hydrophobic additives and its characterization

• Superhydrophobic cotton fabric was accomplished by coating an inexpensive mixture.
• Surface modifications were done by PVC, copper stearate, Fe2O3/Cr2O3 nanoparticles.
• Modified cotton fabric exhibits higher WCA (147.5° & 151.1°).
• Non-wettable cotton possess excellent self-cleaning and stain resistance properties.
• Surface roughness developed by the additives was evaluated through AFM.

Superhydrophobicity on the cotton fabric was accomplished by coating a mixture of polyvinyl chloride, copper stearate and Fe2O3/Cr2O3 nanoparticles. Firm attachment of copper stearate and the nano particles on the surface of cotton was achieved by employing polyvinyl chloride solution as the binder. The non-wettable nature of the surface modified cotton fabrics were evaluated through WCA measurement, which exhibited superhydrophobic nature for nano Fe2O3 (147.5°) and Cr2O3 (151.1°) impregnated cotton. Moreover, the surface roughness contributing towards the enhancement of WCA on cotton was indirectly evaluated by coating a thin film over a glass surface utilizing the same additives was reported through AFM.

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