Multifunctional Textiles Based on Three-Dimensional Hierarchically Structured TiO₂ Nanowires

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Multiscale hierarchical structures in nanomaterials offer enhanced functionalities.
• Textile properties can be significantly improved by surface modifications with advanced nanostructures.
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a versatile material with applications in catalysis and antimicrobial coatings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate polyester fabric coated with 3D hierarchically structured rutile TiO2 nanowires (THNWP).
• To investigate the photocatalytic and antibacterial properties of the modified fabric.
• To evaluate the superamphiphobic performance of the THNWP-coated fabric.

Main Methods:

• Facile hydrothermal synthesis strategy for fabricating THNWP on polyester fabric.
• Characterization of the 3D hierarchical nanostructures and their properties.
• Fluorination treatment to achieve superamphiphobicity.

Main Results:

• The THNWP-coated fabric demonstrated significantly improved photocatalytic and antibacterial activities.
• The 3D hierarchical nanostructures, combined with monofilaments, created a ternary-scale hierarchy.
• The fabric achieved outstanding superamphobicity, repelling liquids with surface tension as low as 23.4 mN m-1, attributed to trapped air pockets.

Conclusions:

• The developed THNWP-coated polyester fabric exhibits enhanced multifunctional properties.
• The unique ternary-scale hierarchy is key to achieving superamphiphobicity.
• This approach holds great potential for the design of high-performance textiles.