Development of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic polyester fabric by growing zinc oxide nanorods

ZnO nanorods were grown on microfibers of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric by seeding method to develop hierarchical roughness structure. XRD and XPS analysis show the presence of crystalline ZnO and chemical Zn species at the fiber surface at each stage of the process. Five series of samples with different seed concentrations have been realized, and their surface morphology and topography were characterized by AFM and SEM. Increasing seed concentrations lead to samples with superhydrophilic properties. Not only the water contact angle at fabric surface tends to zero but also the water capillary diffusion inside fabric is faster. Nanostructuration affects the structure inside the fabric, and further experiments with decane liquid have been made to get a better understanding of this effect. To study the superhydrophobicity, nanorods treated samples were modified with octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODS) by two method; solution deposition and vapor deposition. The superhydrophobicity was characterized by measuring the water contact angle and water sliding angle with 5 μl water droplet. The samples modified with ODS by vapor deposition showed higher water contact angles and low water sliding angle than the ones modified with solution method. The lotus effect has been well correlated with the surface morphology of the nanorods structured fibers. The application of the Cassie-Baxter equation is discussed.