Structural colored fabric with superhydrophobicity by assembly SiO2@PPy composite microspheres and spraying PDMS on white fabric

In recent years, the fabrication of amorphous photonic crystals (APCs) structural colors on fabrics has become a research hotspot in the field of textile coloring. However, the preparation of APCs structural colored fabrics usually requires the use of black fabric as a substrate or the addition of black material for co-assembly, which greatly limits the practical application. In this study, SiO 2 @PPy composite microspheres with different particle diameters were prepared as building units and deposited on white polyester fabric pre-treated with polyacrylate (PA) by atomization to form vivid structural colors. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as superhydrophobic agent to treat SiO 2 @PPy structural colored fabrics by spraying method. The results showed that SiO 2 @PPy composite microspheres with different particle diameters were prepared, which can be assembled into APCs structure on white polyester fabrics, showing different vivid structural colors. The water contact angle of structural colored fabric after PDMS treatment reached greater than 150°, showing excellent superhydrophobicity to endow it with anti-fouling property. With the introduction of PA adhesive, the structural colored fabrics had good washing and abrasion colorfastness. This study provides a new strategy for developing functional structural colored fabrics on white textile substrates.