Polydopamine/SiO2 Hybrid Structured Superamphiphobic Fabrics with Good Photothermal Behavior

In recent years, photothermal materials that can convert light into heat energy have attracted extensive attention. In this work, we report a simple and effective approach to construct a self-cleaning photothermal superamphiphobic fabric. Dopamine (DA) can self-polymerize into polydopamine (PDA) and adhere to the surface of cotton fabric as a secondary reaction platform. Then, SiO2 nanoparticles were in situ grown on the PDA@fabric surface by the sol-gel method. The PDA clusters can not only provide good photothermal conversion performance but also be integrated with SiO2 to create micro-nano rough structures. Finally, the surface of SiO2 was modified by the long chain of fluorosilane to decrease the fabric surface energy, resulting in superamphiphobicity. The contact angles of water, ethylene glycol, and pump oil on the modified fabric surface could reach 161.1, 158.1, and 142.2 degrees, respectively, making the fabric resistant to contamination by water, common beverages, and oil. Due to the adhesion of the PDA layer, the strong binding force between the fabric and SiO2 particles enabled the modified fabric to withstand various chemical and mechanical attacks, showing excellent mechanical robustness and harsh environmental stability. More importantly, the surface temperature of the modified fabric could be increased from 19.6 to 37.0 degrees C, which is close to the human body temperature, under the irradiation of simulated sunlight (I = 15 A, 300 s). The photothermal superamphiphobic fabrics with self-cleaning properties show great promise in the photothermal conversion field.

Automated summary

This study reports a simple and effective method for constructing a self-cleaning photothermal superamphiphobic fabric. SiO2 nanoparticles were grown on the polydopamine-coated fabric surface, creating micro-nano rough structures. The surface of SiO2 was modified to decrease the fabric surface energy, resulting in superamphiphobicity. The modified fabric showed resistance to contamination by water, common beverages, and oil, as well as excellent mechanical robustness and harsh environmental stability. Additionally, the surface temperature of the fabric increased under simulated sunlight.