Surface modification of cellulosic fibres for multi-purpose TiO2 based nanocomposites

Vegetable cellulose fibres have been surface modified using the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), octyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) or phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS), followed by the layer-by-layer deposition of previously synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles. Raman, FTIR and Si-29 Solid State NMR spectroscopies, and SEM were used to characterize the resulting nanocomposites. Water contact angle measurements were performed and the results indicate a quite distinct behaviour depending on the employed surface modification procedure. We anticipate that some of the cellulose-based composite materials have potential to be used in self-cleaning surfaces and reinforcing agents in polymer matrices, namely due to their hydrophobic surface and photostability when exposed to solar radiation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.