posted on 2022-10-14, 14:34authored byJie Liu, Yuling Sun, Rui Ma, Xiaoteng Zhou, Lijun Ye, Volker Mailänder, Werner Steffen, Michael Kappl, Hans-Jürgen Butt
The attachment of
bio-fluids to surfaces promotes the
transmission
of diseases. Superhydrophobic textiles may offer significant advantages
for reducing the adhesion of bio-fluids. However, they have not yet
found widespread use because dried remnants adhere strongly and have
poor mechanical or chemical robustness. In addition, with the massive
use of polymer textiles, features such as fire and heat resistance
can reduce the injuries and losses suffered by people in a fire accident.
We developed a superhydrophobic textile covered with a hybrid coating
of titanium dioxide and polydimethylsiloxane (TiO2/PDMS).
Such a textile exhibits low adhesion to not only bio-fluids but also
dry blood. Compared to a hydrophilic textile, the peeling force of
the coated textile on dried blood is 20 times lower. The textile’s
superhydrophobicity survives severe treatment by sandpaper (400 mesh)
at high pressure (8 kPa) even if some of its microstructures break.
Furthermore, the textile shows excellent heat resistance (350 °C)
and flame-retardant properties as compared to those of the untreated
textile. These benefits can greatly inhibit the flame spread and reduce
severe burns caused by polymer textiles adhering to the skin when
melted at high temperatures.