Durable hydrophobic sol-gel finishing for textiles

Abstract

The surface of cotton textile was modified to create a water-repellent finishing by depositing a modifying coatings using the sol-gel technique. Treated textiles evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray powder diffraction (XRD). The wettability of treated fabrics was characterized by water contact angle and drop test. The results showed that the cotton textile treated with 7.5 wt.% zinc acetate dihydrate sol showed excellent hydrophobic properties, water contact angle could reach 145°C without decreasing after 50 hydrothermal treatment cycles.