José M. R. C. A. Santos*, Ana R. Sampaio, Joana Branquinho
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 31-40, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634123
Abstract Cellulose-based materials are one of the most widely used materials provided by nature to mankind. In particular, cotton fi bers have been used for millennia to produce clothing items. This wide usage stems from the inherent properties of cotton fabrics such as hydrophilicity and permeability to water vapor. However, increasingly sophisticated uses for cotton-based clothing (e.g., technical textiles) demand specifi c properties such as hydrophobicity and oleophobicity for repellent functions. The current surface treatments used to attain these functionalities are based on thermally initiated polymerization reactions, using water-based formulations. Thus, the current technologies are energy-… More >