Versatile superhydrophobic and photocatalytic films generated from TiO2-SiO2@PDMS and their applications on fabrics

We report a simple and practical approach to for the facile production of TiO2-SiO2@PDMS versatile hybrid films via a sol-gel process, which possess superhydrophobic and photocatalytic properties. The as-prepared films presented herein have high thermal stability even up to 400 degrees C, and then switch to superhydrophilicity upon calcination at 470 degrees C. Also, we successfully employed the TiO2-SiO2@PDMS hybrid solution to coat onto flexible polyester-cotton fabrics on a large scale, allowing them to be made superhydrophobic. The superhydrophobic fabrics are wash-resistant and resistant to strong acid attack, and can be applied as a filter cloth for both oil-water separation and colorful pattern printing. We further applied the TiO2-SiO2@PDMS hybrid solution to treat dye waste water, which became colorless under UV irradiation. More interestingly, small balls coated with the TiO2-SiO2@PDMS hybrid solution can move faster than the control sample owing to their smooth superhydrophobic surface. These findings suggest that this multifunctional TiO2-SiO2@PDMS hybrid material can be applied to fabric treatment and water-repellent ship coatings.