Scratch‐Resistant, Stiffened, and Waterproof Textiles from the In Situ Deposition of Lubricous Binary Gradient Polymer Networks

Developing polymer networks with high modulus and antiscratch properties is a long‐lasting challenge due to the fundamental conflicts underlying conventional design principles. Especially on soft substrates, polymer coatings with programable multifunctionality, including high hardness, antiscratch, and waterproofing, are ubiquitous application requirements but much more challenging to achieve. Here, scratch‐resistant, stiffening, and waterproof fabrics are fabricated via in situ deposition of a fluorinated polymer (FP) and polyacrylate (PAcr) network. The binary gradient network is achieved via the surface segregation of the FP in a two‐bath pad–dry–cure process with waterproof finishing, followed by a stiffening finishing sequence. The stiffening value reaches 58.6, and the contact angle achieves 140°. Due to the tribological characteristics of the fluorine‐containing polymer and the formation of a binary gradient polymer network, the Δ L of the finished fabric reduced to 1.1 while the Δ L for the stiffened fabric is 4.1, revealing the scratch endurance. The strategy of establishing fluorine‐induced lubricious coating proposed in this article achieves a balance between antistarch and stiffening on soft fabric substrates, which paves the way for solving the long‐lasting, unsolved, and crucial challenge in the textile industry.