Effect of lignin on performance of lignocellulose nanofibrils for durable superhydrophobic surface

In this work, lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) were initially prepared from 4, 8 and 16% sodium hydroxide pretreated wheat straw by mechanical grinding to evaluate the effect of lignin on the fibrillation process, and then superhydrophobic surface was prepared through coating fluoroalkyl silane modified LCNFs on glass and filter paper. The LCNFs with various amounts of lignin possess a fine structure with an average diameter of 13–17 nm and the length in microscale. The superhydrophobic surface was obtained by the LCNFs modified with the fluoroalkyl silane at an extremely low dosage (0.31 v/v%) owing to the presence of inherent hydrophobic lignin for synergetic effect. Although the high content of lignin in LCNFs has minor negative effect on the abrasion resistance of the as-prepared superhydrophobic surfaces, such a superhydrophobic surface has excellent water repellency and self-cleaning properties that offer LCNFs many promising applications.