Surface hydrophilizing modification of polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric through oxidant-induced polydopamine deposition

This paper reports surface hydrophilizing modification of polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric by employing bio-inspired polydopamine functionalization. The modification process was accelerated by introducing sodium periodate (NaIO ₄ ) as oxidant. Surface morphology and chemical composition of the modified polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Hydrophilicity of the polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric was investigated through water contact angle measurement. It was found that polydopamine successfully deposited on the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric and the uniformity of the polydopamine coating increased with increasing modification time. Water contact angle of polytetrafluoroethylene/glass fiber fabric decreased after polydopamine modification and reached 29° when the sample was treated for 120 min, indicating an improved hydrophilic performance. The formed polydopamine coating was also demonstrated to have reliable chemical and mechanical stability.