Exploration of chemical modification methods for hydrophobization of cellulose and cotton fabric

Abstract

This paper provides a study on possible chemical modifications of cotton, a material widely used in apparels that provides great comfortability and breathability, to overcome the limitations of low water-resistant by increasing the hydrophobicity of cotton. The paper will also be writing on the exploration of chemical modification for hydrophobization of cellulose, which cotton is made up 90% of. It will present on the knowledge gap between the present researches, following by the various nucleophilic substitution methods used to explore on modifying cotton, as well as cellulose, using various chemicals. It will also describe on the details and results of each approach, with the insights gained on each experiment. Lastly, the paper will round up the conclusion to provide useful insights and recommendations for the potential future work in this field.