Highly water-resistant paper via infiltration with polymeric microspheres from nanocellulose-stabilized plant...

Sustainable strategies to improve the water resistance of cellulose paper are actively sought. In this work, polymeric microspheres (PMs), prepared through emulsion polymerization of cellulose nanofibers stabilized rubber seed oil-derived monomer, were investigated as coatings on corrugated medium paper (CMP). After infiltrating porous paper with PMs, the water-resistant corrugated papers (WRCP_n) with enhanced mechanical properties were obtained. When 30 wt% PMs were introduced, WRCP₃₀ turned out to be highly compacted with an increased water contact angle of 106.3° and a low water vapor transmission rate of 81 g/(m² d) at 23 °C. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of WRCP₃₀ increased to 22.2 MPa, a 4-fold increase from CMP. When tested in a well-hydrated state, 71% of its mechanical strength in the dry state was maintained. Even with a low content of 10 wt% PMs, WRCP₁₀ also exhibited stable tensile strength and water wettability during the cyclic soaking-drying process. Thus, the plant oil based sustainable emulsion polymers provide a convenient route for enhancing the overall performance of cellulose paper.