Fabrication of a Conductive and Super-hydrophobe Layer on Cotton Fabric by Admicellar Polymerization Method and Alkyl Silanes Modification

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the super-hydrophobicity and conductivity properties of cotton fabrics coated with polypyrrole (PPy) through admicellar polymerization (AP) process and modified with alkyl silanes. Firstly, samples of cotton fabric were coated with PPy through AP process and also some samples were coated in the same condition without using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant and then they were modified with HDTMS. Finally, their super-hydrophobicity and surface resistivity were studied and compared with each other. The samples were characterized by attenuated total reflectance FTIR spectroscopy. Their morphology and surface roughness were investigated by SEM and AFM respectively. Conductivity and hydrophobicity were also assessed by a standard two probe method and static and dynamic water contact angle measurements, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy and SEM images confirmed the existence of PPy on the treated samples. The agglomeration of PPy particles was more obvious on the surface of pristine sample. However, a uniform distribution of PPy films was observed for the admicellar polymerized cotton samples. After treating with HDTMS, the CA value for pristine sample was 115˚. But, it was reached to 153˚ for admicellar polymerized samples and their roughness increased up to up to 341%. It was concluded that AP process can be applied for fabrication a PPy layer on the rough and hydrophilic surface like cotton and consequently, it can be used for achieving to modified conductivity and superhydrophobicity properties.