Fabrication of hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers (SAM) on the surface of ultra-strength nanocellulose films

Nanocellulose (NC) films with extremely high tensile properties after high-pressure homogenization and chemical modification with perfluoroctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) were prepared by a solution-immersion method. The tensile properties of the treated NC films were significantly increased by the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation on the surface. With increasing the PFOTES concentration, the water contact angle (WCA) of the NC films increased up to 130.1 degrees. The slope of the decaying WCA of the treated NC films decreased with increasing the immersion time and PFOTES concentration. XPS data shows that fluorine atoms by the SAM formation are obviously present on the surface of the NC films. (C) 2012 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.