Fabrication of Hydrophobic Surface from Zein-Based Nanostructure and Rosin to Functionalize Cotton Textiles

A double-layer hydrophobic coating based on zein nanoparticles (ZNPs) and rosin was successfully developed as a simple and non-toxic process for textile functionalization. The bottom layer of the coating was a highly rough surface formed by the accumulation of zein nanoparticles prepared with an antisolvent method. The top layer was made of rosin to reduce the surface energy. The fabric treated with ZNPs and rosin (ZNPs/R/cotton) exhibited good hydrophobic behavior with a water contact angle (WCA) of 131.5 ± 2.3° and the hydrophobicity was long-lasting. The micromorphology and chemical composition of hydrophobic cotton fabric surface were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The results demonstrated that zein and rosin deposited on the surface of the fabric to form a rough micro/nano-scale structure. The functional ZNPs/R/cotton retained excellent mechanical properties, air permeability and water vapor permeability. The practical application tests indicated that the fabric displayed good stain resistance ability. Even after 10 soaking cycles and 50 rubbing cycles, the fabric still retained good hydrophobic property with WCAs of 124.7 ± 2.9° and 90.3 ± 3.5°. This work offered a potential method for the clean production of functionalized textiles.