Super-hydrophobic fiber having needle-shaped NANO structure on its surface, method for fabricating the same and fiber product comprising the same

Abstract

A super-hydrophobic fiber of the present disclosure includes: a nano-needle fiber having a surface including needle-shaped nano structures; and a coating layer disposed on the surface including the nano structures, and containing a hydrophobic material. The fiber has no aging effect, and thus, is excellent in durability, and has such a large contact angle and such as small sliding angle that the fiber may not be wet with water. A method for fabricating the super-hydrophobic fiber includes: a preparation step of preparing a pre-treating fiber; an etching step of etching a surface and an inner portion of the pre-treating fiber to fabricate a nano-needle fiber having a surface on which needle-shaped nano structures are formed; and a coating step of forming a coating layer containing a hydrophobic material, and enables mass production and is performed by simple processes.Further, an article including the super-hydrophobic fiber is an article in which no liquid drop is absorbed, scarcely adsorbs a contaminant, needs not be dried, and thus, may be widely applied even to recreational articles.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICAION[0001]Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2014-0000891, filed on Jan. 3, 2014, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]1. Field of the Disclosure[0003]The present disclosure relates to super-hydrophobic fiber having a surface including needle-shaped nano structures and in which a coating layer containing a hydrophobic material is formed on the surface, a method for fabricating the same, and a fiber product comprising the same.[0004]2. Background of the Disclosure[0005]In order to impart a hydrophobic or contamination prevention function to the conventional functional clothing, methods of coating a material having a low surface energy, such as hydrophobic Teflon have been adopted. Further, International Publication No. WO 2012 / 152997 discloses a method of forming a super-hydrop...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a way to make a special type of fabric that is resistant to water. This is done by coating the fabric with a special material that makes it water-repelent. The coating is durable and can be applied to a variety of materials, including polyester. The process is eco-friendly and cost-effective. The technical effect is the creation of a fabric that can keep water away from its surface for a long time.

Problems solved by technology

WO 2012 / 152997 discloses a method of forming a super-hydrophobic surface having a nano structure including: applying a solution obtained by mixing nanocellulose particles on the surface by a spray method, and evaporating moisture from the applied solution, but since a hydrophobic solution is applied by a spray method, it is difficult to form a uniform coating layer, and there is a problem in that due to the separation of particles introduced for forming a hydrophobic surface from the surface, contamination, or deterioration in hydrophobic characteristics easily occurs.

As another example, the document [M. Joshi, et al., Nano structured coatings for super hydrophobic textiles, Bulletin of Materials Science] suggests a method of forming a surface with a low surface energy having a nano structure by depositing silica nanoparticles on fabric, but since there is a concern in that the particles may be subsequently desorbed due to using a method of depositing particles, there is a limitation in durability, and there is a problem in that contamination caused by particle dust may occur or performance may deteriorate.

As described above, in the case of a method of directly depositing the nano structure on fiber such as fabric, the deposited material is desorbed, or the coating layer is easily worn due to weak durability, and as a result, the performance may rapidly deteriorates, and contamination and the like due to desorbed particles may lead to problems.

In addition, these methods may have environmental contamination due to waste water by using solutions and the like in the fabrication process, and also have problems in that the process is complicated, process costs are increased, and it is a little difficult to achieve mass production.

Images