Multi-dimensional characterizations of washing durable ZnO/phosphazene-siloxane coated fabrics via ToF-SIMS and XPS

The poor washing durability of nylon fabric coating hinders their applications. Here, by spray coating zinc oxide (ZnO) and APESP siloxane on the surface of nylon 6, we find that the washing durability of the coated fabric could be enhanced dramatically. To reveal its mechanism, the microstructure of the fabric was investigated via Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), respectively. It was found that the ratio of ZnO and APESP can significantly influent the acquired fabric morphology. XPS depth profiling results further suggest the crosslinked network of the ZnO/APESP on the fabric surface. Moreover, the formation of Si–O–Zn bonds confirmed by the modified auger parameter can enhance the washing durability of the fabric coating. Moreover, the characterization methods introduced in this paper, in particular the UB mode, which can be applied into ToF-SIMS measurements to obtain 2D mapping and model construction results with higher spatial resolution, thus providing guidelines for future nanoscale researches.