Ultrafast and Sustainable Catalyst-Free Chemical Functionalization of Cellulose Paper with Diazo Compounds-Application to Hydrophobic Materials

This work describes an ultrafast and sustainable approach for the covalent functionalization of cellulose paper using diazo compounds under catalyst-free conditions. The methodology requires ca. 10 min of reaction to attain a level of grafting in the range of 8–17% which allows for significant modification of the physical properties of the cellulosic material. As an application, the work emphasizes the preparation of plastic- and fluorine-free hydrophobic cellulose paper. The grafting of hydrophobic diazo compounds based on cholesterol, an inexpensive, biosourced, abundant, and nontoxic compound, resulted in a material with excellent hydrophobicity and strong oleophobicity, making it suitable for applications in food packaging and textiles as an alternative to plastic and fluorine solutions.