Water repellent aramids

A process for increasing the water repellency of shaped aramid articles selected from the group consisting of fibers, filaments, ribbons, tapes, rods, and particles while preventing the individual articles from adhering to one another during the process comprising the steps of:

• a) contacting the aramid articles with a solution of:
• i) an alkyl sulfoxide solvent;
• ii) a base which has a pK.sub.a in the alkyl sulfoxide solvent of at least 19 in a concentration of 0.0001 to 6 molar in the solution;
• and
• iii) a lithium salt soluble in the solution in a concentration of 0.0001 to 6 molar in the solution and at a mole ratio of the lithium with the base of at least 1:1;
• b) maintaining the contact for a time sufficient to swell the aramid articles and form anions on aramid molecules on the surface of the aramid articles;
• c) contacting the aramid articles with a fluoroalkyl-containing alkylating agent
• R'(CH.sub.2).sub.m X wherein:
• R' is a perfluoroalkyl having 1-20 carbon atoms, straight-chain or branched, and substituted by one or more ether oxygens or not;
• m is 0-6;
• and
• X is --CH[O]CH.sub.2, --OCH.sub.2 CH[O]CH.sub.2, or --C.sub.6 H.sub.4 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Y wherein Y is Br, Cl, I, CH.sub.3 C.sub.6 H.sub.4 SO.sub.3, or CF.sub.3 SO.sub.3 whereby the alkylating agent is grafted to the aramid articles.