Hydrophobic cotton fabric coated by a thin nanoparticulate plasma film

Abstract The audio frequency (AC) plasma of some kind of fluorocarbon chemical was applied to deposit a nanoparticulate hydrophobic film onto a cotton fabric surface. The measurement of the video contact angle showed that the superhydrophobicity of the cotton fabric was obtained with a treatment of only 30 s. The softness, water retention, moisture regain, color retention, abrasion, friction, and permeability were thoroughly investigated by a standard method that compared the fabric with a commercial Scotchgard‐protector‐sprayed cotton fabric. The results showed that the textile performances of the plasma‐coated fabric were superior to those of Scotchgard‐sprayed samples, except for the moisture regain, which was almost the same. A post‐treatment at a high temperature was conducive to increasing the hydrophobicity and the recovery of the water repellency of the plasma‐coated fabric after it was washed. Atomic force microscopy images and time‐of‐flight secondary‐ion mass spectra of plasma thin films on silicon wafers indicated that some physical and chemical changes took place during the post‐treatment process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1473–1481, 2003