Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

TiO2-coated Hollow Glass Microspheres with Superhydrophobic and High IR-reflective Properties Synthesized by a Soft-chemistry Method
Published on: April 26, 2017
UV-durable superhydrophobic textiles with UV-shielding properties by coating fibers with ZnO/SiO2 core/shell
Chao-Hua Xue1, Wei Yin, Shun-Tian Jia
1College of Resource and Environment, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, People's Republic of China. xuech@zju.edu.cn
Abstract:
ZnO/SiO(2) core/shell particles were fabricated by successive coating of multilayer polyelectrolytes and then a SiO(2) shell onto ZnO particles. The as-prepared ZnO/SiO(2) core/shell particles were coated on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) textiles, followed by hydrophobization with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane, to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces with UV-shielding properties. Transmission electron microscopy and ζ potential analysis were employed to evidence the fabrication of ZnO/SiO(2) core/shell particles. Scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis were conducted to investigate the surface morphologies of the textile and the coating of the fibers. Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and contact angle measurement indicated that the incorporation of ZnO onto fibers imparted UV-blocking properties to the textile surface, while the coating of SiO(2) shell on ZnO prohibited the photocatalytic degradation of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane by ZnO, making the as-treated PET textile surface show stable superhydrophobicity with good UV-shielding properties.

