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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Fabricating Cotton Analytical Devices
Published on: August 30, 2016
Fabrication of superhydrophobic cotton fabric with fluorinated TiO2 sol by a green and one-step sol-gel process
Maiping Yang1, Weiqu Liu2, Chi Jiang1
1Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Key Laboratory of Cellulose and Lignocellulosics Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to propose a facile, green and low-cost approach of the preparation of superhydrophobic cotton textiles, which can be fabricated with fluorinated TiO2 sols via a sol-gel method. The coating was prepared with TiO2 sols catalyzed with acetic acid, then modified by poly(Hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) (PHFBMA) which was synthesized by free radical polymerization. The wettability, surface morphology and chemical composition of pristine and modified cotton fabrics were investigated. The modified fabric presents a high contact angle reached up to 152.5°. The successful incorporation of fluorinated TiO2 nanoparticles into cotton fabric was verified by the above measurements results. Additionally, the chemical stability of the coated fabric has been tested by immersing in different pH solutions and organic solvents, demonstrating the outstanding water repellency of the fabric. Furthermore, the treated cotton fabric shows excellent self-cleaning properties, which makes it an ideal material for large-scaled industrial applications in various conditions.
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