Robust fluorine-free superhydrophobic coating on polyester fabrics by spraying commercial adhesive and hydrophobic fumed SiO2 nanoparticles

In the practical application of a textile, hand washing and brush washing are unavoidable. In this work, SH coatings with robust mechanical stability were prepared on polyester fabric by the orderly spraying of commercial adhesives and a suspension of fluoride-free hydrophobic fume SiO2 nanoparticles. A series of tests, including hand-rubbing and brush washing, all demonstrate that the as-prepared SH coatings have excellent mechanical stability. In brush washing test, after 60 cycles of brushing with a strength comparative to that used by an adult for brushing sailcloth shoes, the textile surfaces maintain an SH property with a CA of 153.0 ± 2.1° and SA of 9.2 ± 0.7°. In our knowledge, it is the first report to evaluate the mechanical stability of SH textile by directly using brush washing test.