Water-Repellent Cellulose Fiber Networks with Multifunctional Properties

Abstract

We demonstrate a simple but highly efficient technique to introduce multifunctional properties to cellulose fiber networks by wetting them with ethyl-cyanoacrylate monomer solutions containing various suspended organic submicrometer particles or inorganic nanoparticles. Solutions can be applied on cellulosic surfaces by simple solution casting techniques or by dip coating, both being suitable for large area applications. Immediately after solvent evaporation, ethyl-cyanoacrylate starts cross-linking around cellulose fibers under ambient conditions because of naturally occurring surface hydroxyl groups and adsorbed moisture, encapsulating them with a hydrophobic polymer shell. Furthermore, by dispersing various functional particles in the monomer solutions, hydrophobic ethyl-cyanoacrylate nanocomposites with desired functionalities can be formed around the cellulose fibers. To exhibit the versatility of the method, cellulose sheets were functionalized with different ethyl-cyanoacrylate nanocomposite shells comprising submicrometer wax or polytetrafluoroethylene particles for superhydophobicity, MnFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles for magnetic activity, CdSe/ZnS quantum dots for light emission, and silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial activity. Morphological and functional properties of each system have been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, detailed contact angle measurements, light emission spectra and E. coli bacterial growth measurements. A plethora of potential applications can be envisioned for this technique, such as food and industrial packaging, document protection, catalytic cellulosic membranes, textronic (electrofunctional textiles), electromagnetic devices, authentication of valuable documents, and antimicrobial wound healing products to name a few.

Functionalized Cellulose Networks for Efficient Oil Removal from Oil–Water Emulsions

“…At the same time, the elongation at break decreases from 9.4% to 4.1%. We assume that the strong adhesion of the PFW on the cellulose fibers can induce physical cross-linking of the fibers and PFW, which turns the FP into a stronger material [17]. On the other hand, the PDMS-b-PEO treatment does not seem to have any influence to the mechanical properties of the FPs both in the untreated and PFW treated samples.…”

“…Numerous efforts have been made in order to turn these materials into water-resistant multifunctional systems, thus expanding their applicability in diverse technological fields [17][18][19][20]. To this end, studies have been conducted on the surface modification of cellulosic FP, which is commonly used for particle separation/filtration processes [9], in order to be utilized as an oil-water separator [5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Bio-Based Coatings for Paper Applications

“…They can offer specific functionalities to the paper surface such as, optical properties, scratch and abrasion resistance, or barrier and mechanical properties [87]: e.g., inorganic nanoparticles such as TiO2, SiO2 and Al2O3 coupled with low surface energy chemicals like 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (MPS) or silanes, acted as superhydrophobic material and improved opacity [88,89]. As another example, multifunctional properties can be introduced in a paper coating with ethyl-cyanoacrylate monomer solutions containing various suspended organic and inorganic nanoparticles such as PTFE (superhydrophobicity), MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (magnetic activity), CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (light emission), and silver nanoparticles (antimicrobial activity) [90]. However, only few articles described these functionalities by using purely biopolymers as functional bio-based paper coatings specifically for tuning the barrier properties of the coated paper and boards [35,91,92], due to difficulty in achieving the specific properties, lacking the production, and inadequate processing techniques.…”

Cellulosic Substrates for Removal of Pollutants from Aqueous Systems: A Review. 3. Spilled Oil and Emulsified Organic Liquids

“…Increased uptake of oil onto cellulosic substrates has been shown following alkylation, which made the materials more hydrophobic (Ball 1973;Maurin et al 1999;Sun et al 2002Sun et al , 2003Ludwick et al 2003;Deschamps et al 2003a,b;Adebajo and Frost 2004;Dankovich and Hsieh 2007;Rattanawong et al 2007;Said et al 2009;Sathasivam and Haris 2010;Bayer et al 2011;Tao et al 2011;Gao et al 2010Gao et al , 2011Gao et al , 2012Cervin et al 2012;Payne et al 2012). Alternatively, wax can be applied to render the surfaces more hydrophobic and more capable of sorbing oil (Raible 1990).…”