Preparation of block copolymer PS-b-PFPE and its application on cotton fabric electrostatic microsphere spraying

2 Spraying rough microspheres on the cotton fabrics' surface is an ingenious way to develop textiles with superhydrophobic properties. This paper reports a convenient and low-cost technique for synthesising hydroxyl-terminated polystyrene by atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) and preparing PS-b-PFPE by introducing perfluorinated polyether chain segments through esterification. Simultaneously, PS-b-PFPE was prepared as a finishing solution, and the PS-b-PFPE microspheres were prepared by electrostatic spraying. The effects of different receiving distances, solvents, concentrations, voltage and flow velocity on the morphology and its size distribution of the spray microsphere were studied. The results show that when chloroform was used as a solvent, the working liquid concentration was 80 mg/mL, the flow rate was 0.8 mL/h, the receiving distance was 10 cm and the voltage was 10 kV, the obtained size distribution of the microspheres was narrow. In addition, the static contact angle of the PS-b-PFPE microspheres coating was 159° ± 1°, and the rolling angle was 1.8° ± 0.3°. Consequently, the PS-b-PFPE-coated cotton fabric had good oil–water separation and self-cleaning function with good mechanical stability.