Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics were prepared by the incorporation of silica nanoparticles and subsequent
hydrophobization with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS). The silica nanoparticles were
synthesized via sol–gel reaction with methyl trimethoxy silane (MTMS) as the precursor in the presence
of the base catalyst and surfactant in aqueous solution. As for the resulting products, characterization
by particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning probe microscopy (SPM), X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed respectively.
The size of SiO2 nanoparticles can be controlled by adjusting the catalyst and surfactant concentrations.
The wettability of cotton textiles was evaluated by the water contact angle (WCA) and water shedding
angle (WSA) measurements. The results showed that the treated cotton sample displayed remarkable
water repellency with aWCAof 151.9◦ for a 5L water droplet and aWSAof 13◦ for a 15L water droplet