Fabrication of water repellent cotton fabric by coating nano particle impregnated hydrophobic additives and its characterization
Abstract Superhydrophobicity on the cotton fabric was accomplished by coating a mixture of polyvinyl chloride, copper stearate and Fe 2 O 3 /Cr 2 O 3 nanoparticles. Firm attachment of copper stearate and the nano particles on the surface of cotton was achieved by employing polyvinyl chloride solution as the binder. The non wettable nature of the surface modified cotton fabrics were evaluated through WCA measurement, which exhibited superhydrophobic nature for nano Fe 2 O 3 (147.5deg) and Cr 2 O 3 (151.1deg) impregnated cotton. Moreover, the surface roughness contributing towards the enhancement of WCA on cotton was indirectly evaluated by coating a thin film over a glass surface utilizing the same additives was reported through AFM.