Although superhydrophobic fabric has already been fabricated by a lot of approaches, the mechanical stability of superhydrophobic fabric fabricated by these means is poor, which has limited the application of the fabric.

The Composite Lubricating Materials Research Group at R&D Center of Lubricating and Protecting Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has fabricated a superhydrophobic fabric possessing both mechanical stability and easy-repairability by a facile solution–immersion process. The whole procedure was facile to carry out and did not require special materials. The resulting fabric exhibited superhydrophobic permanency and mechanical resistance.

A superhydrophobic fabric with mechanical stability and easy-repairability was fabricated by a facile approach. (Image by ZHANG Zhaozhu et al.)

High water contact angles (greater than 150°) and rough surface structures were still observed after a long-term exposure to water, finger touching, and abrasion with sandpaper. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic property of the fabric can be regenerated by an easy repair process when loss of superhydrophobicity occurred. The study gas provided a new avenue to extend the life span of superhydrophobicity on fabrics.

The work has received support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The findings have been published in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2012, 380, 182-186).