Enhancing Superhydrophobicity of Fabrics via Chemical Vapor Deposition and Thermal Aging

ABSTRACT This study proposes a method to improve the low durability and long treatment time associated with thermal aging in superhydrophobic processing for fabric. Superhydrophobicity and durability were evaluated based on treatment sequence and time, using thermal aging and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) separately or together. polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and PA 66 fabrics and films were tested to analyze the effects of materials with chain mobility and surface energy that are difficult to treat with thermal aging alone. Introducing nano roughness and polar functional groups followed by 24 h thermal aging resulted in superhydrophobicity only for PET samples. However, all samples showed superhydrophobicity after 0.5 h of CVD treatment. When thermal aging was applied after CVD treatment for a short time, all samples achieved superhydrophobicity, with improved water repellency compared to CVD treatment after thermal aging. CVD treatment also allowed the PA 66 sample to show superhydrophobicity, unlike thermal aging alone. The PET fabric treated with both methods (0.5 h each) exhibited the highest water repellency and maintained superhydrophobicity even after 20 tape rubs, outperforming other treatment conditions.