Controllable preparation of PDMS-based copolymers with long-lasting high hydrophobicity for coating protection of summer cloth surfaces

• Published in: Chemical papers Vol. 78; no. 5; pp. 3367 - 3380
• Main Author: Dong, Yalin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abrasion; Antifouling coatings; Biochemistry; Biotechnology; Block copolymers; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Cloth; Contact angle; Controllability; Copolymers; Hydrophobic surfaces; Hydrophobicity; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Light transmittance; Linen; Materials Science; Medicinal Chemistry; Original Paper; Polydimethylsiloxane; Rain water; Silicon; Surface energy; Coating protection; Silicon; Hydrophobicity; Summer cloth; Block copolymer
• ISSN: 0366-6352; 1336-9075; 2585-7290
• DOI: 10.1007/s11696-024-03318-4

Cool linen is used to produce summer clothing to be known as summer cloth. Nevertheless, ramie-fiber surfaces bear hydrophilic hydroxyls to result in rainwater wetting and stain adhering. To achieve outdoor application of summer cloth, here, light all-organic hydrophobic copolymer coatings were formed on surfaces of two various summer clothes. First, atom transfer radical polymerization was utilized to synthesize polydimethylsiloxane-block-polymethacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane. Then, neat copolymer films and copolymer coating/cloth complexes were prepared. Coating/cloth complexes were characterized. Finally, hydrophobicity-induced antifouling properties of complexes were confirmed, followed by justifying good resistance to surface abrasion for coating/compact summer cloth complex with superhydrophobicity. As a result, the optimal coating/compact summer cloth complex can fight against ink pollution and exhibit a water contact angle of 150.3 degrees after 200 abrasion cycles, in which neat copolymer film has a light transmittance of ~ 90% based on 30 min of pre-hydrolysis. Superhydrophobicity is ascribed to silicon surface enriching-induced low surface energy as well as surface micro-/nano-binary composite rough structure. This work has realized a controllable preparation of silicon-bearing copolymers with long-term hydrophobicity for protecting various summer clothes.