Synthesis of modified polysiloxane/nano-silica hybrid film and its hydrophobicity

A novel modified polysiloxane/nano-silica hybrid material(PSAMS-SiO2) with comb structure was prepared via sol-gel and graft copolymerization methods and then a superhydrophobic hybrid film on cotton fabric was also constructed with contact angle of water on its surface 157° through immersing-padding-baking processes.Chemical structure,thermal stability,micro-morphology and hydrophobicity of the hybrid material or film were investigated by the Fourier transform infrared spectrum(FT-IR),thermo-gravimetric analyzer(TGA),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and static contact angle analyzer,respectively.Results showed that thermal stability of the hybrid material was improved compared to modified polysiloxane,a hydrophobic hybrid film and many lotus-leaf-like micro-nano scale tubercles were coated on the surface of cotton fabrics which were the reasons why cotton fabric changed from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity.In addition,with increase of the amount of PSAMS-SiO2,superhydrophobicity of the cotton fabrics increased.