Intelligent self-healing superhydrophobic modification of cotton fabrics via surface-initiated ARGET ATRP of styrene

Two self-healing processes that can improve the durability of superhydrophobic cotton fabrics were designed to help solve the problems of solvent damage and mechanical abrasion during use. Based on the stimuli-responsive behavior of the polystyrene (PS) brush, an intelligent self-healing superhydrophobic modification was created via immersing cotton fabrics into a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane solution followed by treatment with surface-initiated activators regenerated by electron transfer for atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP) of styrene. Having been damaged by poor solvents, the water repellency of cotton fabrics decreased, with water contact angle (WCA) of 135°. When finished 30 abrasion cycles, the WCA of superhydrophobic cotton fabrics reduced to 142°. However, the surfaces restored superhydrophobicity just by immersing the post-damaged superhydrophobic cotton fabrics into toluene or giving heat stimulation. SEM and XPS results respectively demonstrated the changes of microstructure and compositions in two self-healing processes. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic cotton fabrics demonstrated highly efficient oil–water separation. The properties of low costs, environmental friendliness and easy repair provide the treated cotton fabrics with broad applicability.