IMPROVING THE HYDROPHOBICITY OF FABRICS WITH THE USE OF PHOSPHONIC ACIDS

Craig Barretto, Jonathan P. Chen, Ishaan Desai, Samuel Finegold, Aamod George, Madeleine Hu, Karen Nan, Rei Otake, Amrita Rao, Carli Smolen, Lu Yin, David Zhao

Advisor: Michael Avaltroni
Assistant: Darius Rackus

ABSTRACT

This project examines the effect of phosphonic acid on the hydrophobicity of fabrics. Phosphonic acids provide an alternative to current hydrophobic coatings because of their ability to bond covalently with the oxide layer present on most surfaces. Phosphonic acids of various chain lengths were tested for their hydrophobic properties on a nylon-spandex blend, a versatile fabric used in water sports. Practical heating applications, such as the microwave, conventional oven, and iron were tested to determine the most efficient process to apply the coating. Results showed that phosphonic acids of all chain lengths increased the hydrophobicity of nylon, and the iron heating application provided the most efficient process.