Superhydrophobic PLA fabrics prepared by UV photo-grafting of hydrophobic silica particles possessing vinyl groups.

Geun Yeol Bae, Jinho Jang, Young Gyu Jeong, Won Seok Lyoo, Byung Gil Min

Index: J. Colloid. Interface Sci. 344(2) , 584-7, (2010)

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Abstract

Superhydrophobic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fabrics are prepared by UV photo-grafting of hydrophobic silica particles possessing vinyl functional groups on the surfaces, which is a novel one-step process to provide surface with roughness as well as hydrophobicity simultaneously. For this purpose, hydrophobic silica particles with vinyl groups and average diameter of 1.51+/-0.05 microm are synthesized via a sol-gel process. The silica particles possessing vinyl groups are found to be effectively immobilized on PLA fabrics via UV photo-grafting reaction. The water contact angle of the treated PLA fabric is measured to be approximately 150 degrees, which is high enough to exhibit the Lotus effect as a result of the superhydrophobicity.2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.