Creating water-repellent and super-hydrophobic cellulose substrates by deposition of organic nanoparticles

A series of organic nanoparticles is synthesized by imidization of poly(styrene-maleic anhydride) copolymers under pure conditions or in presence of palm oil. The nanoparticles are applied as a coating onto paper substrates, offering enhanced water-repellence and hydrophobicity. The latter properties can be further tuned by thermal curing of the coatings. After depositing the nanoparticles onto tissue papers, super-hydrophobic surfaces with self-cleaning properties can be prepared. The presented materials offer an attractive alternative for surface treatments of textiles, avoiding the use of environmental unfriendly fluorderivates. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.