Facile fabrication of hydrophobic cellulosic paper with good barrier properties via PVA/AKD dispersion coating

Abstract Due to the micro-sized pores on cellulosic substrate surface and the hygroscopic nature of cellulosic fibers, paper has poor barrier properties. Dispersion coating can improve the barrier properties of cellulosic paper noticeably by forming a continuous, non-porous polymer film on paper surface. In this work, the excellent film-forming performance of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used to seal the surface pores of paper, thus enhancing the barrier properties. Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was also added as a coating component to improve the water resistance of paper. Results showed that after PVA/AKD coating hydrophilic base paper changed to hydrophobic one, as proved by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of base paper decreased sharply from 543 g/m 2 ·day to 2 g/m 2 ·day in the case of PVA/AKD triple coating, where the threshold of WVTR was…