A responsive function is significant to surfaces with special wettability, especially for breaking through their limitations in practical applications. We report a novel strategy, which is effective, scalable, versatile, and low-cost, to produce the pH-responsive superwettable surface by combining the pH-responsive branched polymer nanoparticles (PRBNs) and conventional textile materials. The PRBN exhibiting a spherical shape with strawberry-like rough surface is able to swell (diameter of 71 nm) in an acidic aqueous solution and shrink to its original size (diameter of 42 nm) in a neutral or basic aqueous solution; moreover, the swelling–shrinking transition is reversible. The deposition of PRBNs on polyester fabric provides the surface pH-responsive wettability that is superhydrophobic to a neutral or basic aqueous solution (pH ≥ 7) with a contact angle above 150° and superhydrophilic to an acidic aqueous solution (pH 1) with a contact angle of 0°. Similar to the pH-responsive behavior of nanoparticles, this superhydrophobic–supehydrophilic transition of fabric is also reversible. By adjusting the hydrophobic substituents of PRBN, the wettability of fabric has remarkable changes. The adhesion of PRBNs onto polyester fabric can be obviously enhanced by the heating-press procedure so that its washability improves. These results may provide a new horizon to design new-generation smart textiles via utilizing controllable wettability.

中文翻译：

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基于pH响应的支化聚合物纳米粒子的可逆超润湿性聚酯织物

响应功能对具有特殊润湿性的表面非常重要，尤其是在实际应用中突破其局限性。我们报告了一种新颖的策略，该方法有效，可扩展，用途广泛且成本低廉，可以通过结合pH响应支化聚合物纳米颗粒（PRBNs）和常规纺织材料来生产pH响应超湿表面。PRBN呈球形，带有草莓般的粗糙表面，能够在酸性水溶液中溶胀（直径71 nm），并在中性或碱性水溶液中收缩到其原始尺寸（直径42 nm）；此外，膨胀-收缩过渡是可逆的。PRBN在聚酯织物上的沉积提供了表面pH响应的可润湿性，它对中性或碱性水溶液（pH≥7）具有超疏水性，接触角大于150°，而对于酸性水溶液（pH 1）则具有超亲水性角度为0°。与纳米粒子的pH响应行为相似，织物的这种超疏水-超亲水转变也是可逆的。通过调节PRBN的疏水取代基，织物的润湿性发生了显着变化。PRBNs在聚酯织物上的粘附力可以通过热压程序明显提高，从而提高其可洗性。这些结果可能为通过利用可控制的润湿性设计新一代智能纺织品提供新的视野。