Up to Date Review of Nature-Inspired Superhydrophobic Textiles: Fabrication and Applications

Abstract

In recent years, with the rapid development of the economy and great progress in science and technology, people have become increasingly concerned about their quality of life and physical health. In order to pursue a higher life, various functional and biomimetic textiles have emerged one after another and have been sought after by people. There are many animal and plant surfaces with special wettability in nature, and their unique "micro-nano structures" and low surface energy have attracted extensive attention from researchers. Researchers have prepared various textiles with superhydrophobic features by mimicking these unique structures. This review introduces the typical organisms with superhydrophobicity in nature, using lotus, water strider, and cicada as examples, and describes their morphological features and excellent superhydrophobicity. The theoretical model, commonly used raw materials, and modification technology of superhydrophobic surfaces are analyzed. In addition, the application areas and the current study status of superhydrophobic surfaces for textiles are also summarized. Finally, the development prospects for superhydrophobic textiles based on bionic technology are discussed.

Keywords: biomimetic textiles; lotus leaf; superhydrophobic surface; theoretical modeling.

Figure 1

Inspiration, theory, and applications of superhydrophobic surfaces [2].

Figure 2

(a) Design of robust superhydrophobic copper coatings inspired by the lotus leaf effect [29]; (b) leg structure of a water strider and the function mechanism of a floating solar evaporator with a high salt tolerance influenced by the water strider [30]; (c) optical photographs of cicadas and the preparation of the self-cleaning broadband anti-reflection film [34].

Figure 3

Various states of water droplets on a solid surface [40]: (a) Young’s state; (b) contact angle hysteresis; (c) Wenzel’s state; (d) Cassie–Baxter state; (e) transition between the Wenzel and CB states.

Figure 4

(a) Preparation of superhydrophobic flame retardant coatings on PET fabrics [45]; (b) manufacture of a superhydrophobic phosphorus–nitrogen flame retardant cotton fabric [46]; (c) production of hydrophobic and breathable cellulose non-wovens for disposable hygiene [56].

Figure 5

(a) Schematic representation of the surface roughness and chemical properties of a one-step manipulated PVDF membrane [66]; (b) one-step preparation of transparent superhydrophobic surfaces [67]; (c) processing routes for obtaining sol-gel coatings [82]; (d) one-pot production of superhydrophobic flame retardant coatings [86]; (e) preparation and characterization of double-layer asymmetric dressing through electrospinning and 3D printing [96].

Figure 6

(a) Manufacture of robust superhydrophobic cotton fibers usin the dip coating method [103]; (b) schematic of a droplet deposited on superhydrophobic cotton [103]; (c) fabrication of robust superhydrophobic fabrics using the etching method [104]; (d) creation of multifunctional cotton fabrics [106]; (e) schematic of a transparent superhydrophobic surface prepared by the phase separation of ${\mathrm{SiO}}_2$ and PEA [109]; (f) design of superhydrophobic fabrics for oil–water separation inspired by nature [110].

Figure 10

(a) Employment of superhydrophobic coatings for water/oil separation [125]; (b) applications of superhydrophobic membranes for ultrafast separation of water-in-oil emulsions [126]; (c) hydrophobic–hydrophilic MXene/PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes with improved antifouling properties for seawater treatment [130]; (d) a new superhydrophobic electrospun PVDF membrane for seawater desalination [131].

Figure 7

(a) Formation mechanism of the flame retardant and superhydrophobic cotton fabric [111]; (b) superhydrophobic cotton fabric with improved durability and wearer comfort using spray methods [8].

Figure 8

(a) Application of self-cleaning, superhydrophobic, and antimicrobial cotton fabrics [115]; (b) silicon carbide nanowire modified mullite fabric hierarchical structure applied as a stable and self-cleaning superhydrophobic material [116]; (c) textile coatings with antifouling and antibactericidal properties for medical and daily protection situations [117]; (d) employment of self-cleaning cotton fabrics and antifungal/antimicrobial surfaces [118].

Figure 9

(a) Applications of three-layer laminated polyolefin microfiber fabrics [120]; (b) wearable smart membranes as a functional core layer in fabrics [121]; (c) silver nanowire (AgNW) networks and superhydrophobic coatings for commercial textile products [122]; (d) employment of superhydrophobic and corrosion resistant electrospinning hybrid membranes for efficient electromagnetic interference shielding [123]; (e) superhydrophobic e-textiles with an Ag-EGaIn conductive layer for motion detection and EMI shielding [124].