Chiang Mai Journal of Science

Thermal stability and water repellency of the cotton fabric was improved by coating with hydrophobic and flame-retardant substances. Composition of the flame-retardant substance which is monoammonium phosphate (MAP) or diammonium phosphate (DAP), hydrophobic substance which is poly(methylhydrogen siloxane) (PMHS) and fumed SiO2 was varied to find the suitable composition that provided high liquid-repellent and flame-retardant properties. The coating was performed by soaking the cleaned cotton fabrics in the coating solution for 2 h followed by padding and drying at 50 °C for 2 h. The optimum coating solution was obtained when weight ratio of the PMHS:MAP:SiO2 was 10:10:0.5. The coated cotton fabric had water and glycerol contact angles of 134.15±2.85 and 126.35±5.10 degrees, respectively. In addition, it showed the enhanced thermal stability compared to the uncoated sample based on the burning test.