Organosilicon-Based Plasma Nanocoating on Crust Leather for Water-Repellent Footwear

Abstract

In this study, functional nanocoatings for waterproof footwear leather materials were investigated by chemical plasma polymerization by implanting and depositing the organosilicon compound hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) using a low-pressure plasma system. To this end, the effect of monomers on leather plasma deposition time was evaluated and both the resulting plasma polymers and the deposited leather samples were characterised using different experimental techniques, such as: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, leather samples were tested by standard tests for color change, water resistance, surface wetting resistance and dynamic water contact angle (DWCA). The resulting polysiloxane polymers exhibited hydrophobic properties on leather. Furthermore, these chemical surface modifications created on the substrate can produce water repellent effects without altering the visual leather appearance and physical properties. Both plasma coating treatments and nanocoatings with developed water-repellency properties can be considered as a more sustainable, automated and less polluting alternative to chemical conventional processing that can be introduced into product-finishing processes in the footwear industry.

Effect of Processing Time of Steam-Explosion for the Extraction of Cellulose Fibers from Phoenix canariensis Palm Leaves as Potential Renewable Feedstock for Materials

“…Static water contact angles were obtained with an Attention Theta Flow optical tensiometer (Biolin Scientific Oy, Espoo, Finland). Measurements were performed using three drops of double distilled water as measured according to EN 828:2013 on a rectangular sample of isolated cellulose fibers to evaluate the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the materials studied [ 27 , 28 ].…”