Recent Progress in Fabrication and Applications of Superhydrophobic Coating on Cellulose-Based Substrates

Abstract

Multifuntional fabrics with special wettability have attracted a lot of interest in both fundamental research and industry applications over the last two decades. In this review, recent progress of various kinds of approaches and strategies to construct super-antiwetting coating on cellulose-based substrates (fabrics and paper) has been discussed in detail. We focus on the significant applications related to artificial superhydrophobic fabrics with special wettability and controllable adhesion, e.g., oil-water separation, self-cleaning, asymmetric/anisotropic wetting for microfluidic manipulation, air/liquid directional gating, and micro-template for patterning. In addition to the anti-wetting properties and promising applications, particular attention is paid to coating durability and other incorporated functionalities, e.g., air permeability, UV-shielding, photocatalytic self-cleaning, self-healing and patterned antiwetting properties. Finally, the existing difficulties and future prospects of this traditional and developing field are briefly proposed and discussed.

Durable antibacterial and UV-protective Ag/TiO₂@fabrics for sustainable biomedical application

“…Despite the excellent properties of cellulose surface, some inherent features such as being hydrophilic, vulnerability to bacteria and microorganisms, inferior chemical and thermal stability, and poor persistence to ultraviolet (UV) radiation inhibited its wide application in advanced fields. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Among these methods, the chemical reduction is one of the most commonly used technologies. However, NPs obtained by chemical deposition method are prone to be scratched under mechanical external force.…”

Study of structure influence on wear resistance of hierarchial superhydrophobic coatings

“…Particles do not move over the surface as a solid body but are in an individual contact with separate surface parts. Due to the standardized procedure, the results of this study method are more reproducible than, for example, the tests using sheet abrasives [17].…”

Bacterial cellulose as a potential bioleather substitute for the footwear industry

“…The inherent wettability and liquid-absorbing capacity of BC are beneficial in some applications, but are crucial drawback in shoe manufacture; it is hard to imagine boots to which water sticks rather than rolling off. However, some living organisms possess superhydrophobic surfaces that are being imitated by polymer chemists, and these may be bonded to BC to generate materials with super-antiwetting and even self-cleaning properties (Liu et al, 2016). The surface chemical modification of cellulose nanomaterials to promote their compatibility with low polarity media is being widely investigated.…”

“…However, some living organisms possess superhydrophobic surfaces that are being imitated by polymer chemists, and these may be bonded to BC to generate materials with super-antiwetting and even self-cleaning properties (Liu et al, 2016). The surface chemical modification of cellulose nanomaterials to promote their compatibility with low polarity media is being widely investigated.…”