Soil-resistant, stain-resistant fluorine-free coatings and methods of applying on materials

A method for treating a substrate for improved soil-resistance or stain-resistance, the method comprising:

• selecting a substrate to be coated;
• preparing a composite solution that is fluorine-free, wherein the composite solution consists of water, acid, first solvent, base chemical reagent, plasticizer and bonding agent, the composite solution comprises 3-8 vol. % of the water, 20-30 vol. % of the first solvent, 40-60 vol. % of the base chemical reagent, 15-20 vol. % of the plasticizer, and 5-10 vol. % of the bonding agent,
• wherein further the base chemical reagent is selected from an alkoxysilane, metal oxide precursor, or a combination thereof having a general formula of M(OR)4, where M=Si, Al, Ti, In, Sn or Zr, and R comprises hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl,
• the bonding agent is selected from an alkoxysilane, metal oxide precursor, or a combination thereof having a general formula of M(OR)xR′yR″z (M=Si, Al, In, Sn or Ti;
• x is the integer 1, 2 or 3;
• y is the integer 0, 1 or 2;
• z is the integer 1, 2 or 3, provided that the sum of x, y and z equals 4), where R comprises hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or derivatives thereof;
• R′ comprises hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or derivatives thereof and R″ comprises a substituted or unsubstituted epoxy or glycidoxy, and
• the plasticizer is selected from an alkoxysilane, metal oxide precursor, or a combination thereof having a general formula of M(OR)4-xR′x (M=Si, Al, In, Sn or Ti;
• x is the integer 1, 2 or 3), where R comprise hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or derivatives thereof and R′ comprise a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, a substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl, a substituted or unsubstituted alkynyl, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or derivatives thereof;
• utilizing the composite solution to coat the substrate to form a superhydrophobic coating, wherein the composite solution is deposited via an all solution process, and a degree of polymerization of the composite solution is equal to or less than 100;
• coating the substrate with a hydrophobic solution that is fluorine-free, wherein the hydrophobic solution comprises a hydrophobic chemical agent and a third solvent;
• and
• drying or curing the substrate at equal to or between 25-200° C. to allow a fluorine-free composite coating to form for improving soil-resistance or stain resistance.