Denaturation of cotton fabric by superhydrophobic alkyl methacrylate copolymers.

Abstract

The authors studied the modification of cotton fabric to obtain the superhydrophobic property by creating a poly- alkyl methacrylate on the surface of the fabric. Poly- alkyl methacrylates were synthesised by free radical copolymerisation in solution method from glycidyl methacrylate monomer and alkyl methacrylate monomer, which contained 4 to 18 atoms of carbon in the alkyl substituent. The obtained copolymers, which had a molecular weight from 60,000 to 160,000 daltons and polymer dispersion index (PDI) around 2, were used to coat the surface of cotton fabric by immersion, and then heated at 140ºC. ISO 9237-95 has also been used to determine the permeability of the modified cotton fabric. The contact angle analyst results showed that the modified cotton fabrics have the contact angle from 152 to 165°. In addition, the superhydrophobic property of the modified cotton fabrics was still stable and was remained up to 78 hours in water environment and after 25 times washing in detergent solution.