Study on the high hydrophobicity and its possible mechanism of textile fabric with structural colors of three-dimensional poly(styrene-methacrylic acid) photonic crystals

Abstract

In our previous research, the structural color properties of poly(styrene-methacrylic acid) (P(St-MAA)) photonic crystals fabricated on soft textile fabrics by colloidal self-assembly method has been investigated. However, the hydrophobicity property of the resultant textile fabrics was rarely reported. Through the application of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and wettability analyses, a possible mechanism of hydrophobicity of resultant textile fabrics was proposed. It was confirmed that the hydrophobic P(St-MAA) colloidal microspheres could almost completely fill in most of the gaps of textile fabrics and form a uniform photonic crystal film on textile fabrics in the end of the assembly process, which effectively prevents water droplets from infiltrating through the surface of fabrics. Moreover, the minute protrusions on each P(St-MAA) colloidal microsphere surface and as-prepared regular rough photonic crystal array were combined to form a double-rough structure similar to the morphology of a lotus leaf, which could greatly enhance the hydrophobicity of the resultant textile fabrics.