Three-dimensional transport fabrics with ultrafast water transporting and diffusion inspired by river-diversion

Inspired by the phenomenon of river diversion, a simple printing method is employed to prepare a three-dimensional (3D) transport fabric by coating a discontinuous hydrophobic pattern on inner side and a discontinuous superhydrophilic pattern on outer side of the cotton fabric. The hydrophobic pattern endows the fabric with directional water transport property, and superhydrophilic pattern improves the water diffusion performance. MMT test is used to characterize the moisture management performance of samples. The resulting fabric possesses a high accumulative one-way transport index of 500.06%, and an excellent diffusion performance. Meanwhile, the obtained fabric has a desired washing durability. The novel fabric could serve as a source of inspiration for the development of moisture management fabric. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.