Multifunctional Ti-O coatings on polyethylene terephthalate fabric produced by using roll-to-roll high power impulse magnetron sputtering system

- Ti-O coatings were deposited on PET fabric substrate by the R2R-HIPIMS system.
- The Ti-O coated PET fabrics can effectively block solar heat.
- The Ti-O coated PET fabrics at low O2/Ar flow ratios show hydrophobicity.
- The Ti-O coated PET fabrics at high O2/Ar flow ratios show hydrophilicity.
- The Ti-O coated PET fabrics show high color fastness (color differences ∆ E < 5.5).

Functional and comfortable textiles have been widely used for outdoor protective garment against outer moisture, wind, and cold, combined with good perspiration transport from the inside to the outside. Hydrophobic textiles have attracted various applications, such as water proof, self-cleaning, and bioactive properties, whereas the hydrophilic textiles show wettability, air permeability, wicking, and silk-like appearance. Ti-O coatings have been found in a wide range of applications. Among coating techniques used to deposit Ti-O thin films, high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to high plasma density provided to form a strongly adhered film at a relatively low substrate temperature. In this study, a roll-to-roll high power impulse magnetron sputtering (R2R-HIPIMS) system to produce multifunctional Ti-O coatings on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric substrate was used, which takes advantage of large-scale production and high-quality coatings. Results indicate that the TiO coated PET fabric exhibited the hydrophobic property with a water contact angle of 119o, while TiO2 coated PET fabric showed the hydrophilic property with a water contact angle of 37o. Ti-O coated PET fabrics show high color fastness and effectively block solar heat, indicating that the R2R-HIPIMS is a promising continuous sputtering process in fabricating hydrophobic-TiO/fabric/hydrophilic-TiO2 for applications in multifunctional textiles.

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