Electrostatic assembly of core-corona silica nanoparticles onto cotton fibers

In this investigation core-corona silica nanoparticles were employed to decorate cotton fibers using electrostatic forces. The resultant composites of silica and cellulose were characterized by FESEM and TEM techniques revealed that layers of the core-corona silica deposited on cotton fibers were more uniform and smoother than those of colloidal silica nanoparticles. This improvement was mostly due to the enhanced dispersion and stabilization capabilities of the covalently bonded corona of silica nanoparticles. Experimental results also unveiled that the adsorption amount of nano core-corona silica materials was strongly governed by the surface charge density and charge strength of the cellulosic substrates. The incorporation of core-corona nanoparticles on cotton will provide a wide range of applications for this natural substrate as the surface properties can be fine tuned by a judicious choice of core, corona materials or by attaching complementary organic or inorganic shells (nano particles or polymers) to the charged corona.