Process for providing hydrorepellent properties to a fibrous material and thereby obtained hydrophobic materials

Process of treating a fibrous material, to make the material hydrophobic and/or water repellent, including the operation of:

• impregnating said material with a suspension consisting of nanoparticles of a hydrophobic material and a cyanoacrylate in an organic solvent, wherein said cyanoacrylate is an alkylcyanoacrylate monomer or a mixture of alkylcyanoacrylate monomers in a concentration from 1% to 15% by weight, referred to the weight of the suspension, the weight ratio between cyanoacrylate monomer and hydrophobic material in said suspension being between 5:1 and 2:1;
• removing said organic solvent from said impregnated material;
• causing crosslinking of said cyanoacrylate, the concentration of the cyanoacrylate in said suspension and its weight ratio relative to said nanoparticles being such as to produce complete coating of the fibrous material with a matrix of crosslinked cyanoacrylate in which said nanoparticles are dispersed;
• and
• wherein the crosslinking of said cyanoacrylate is implemented by exposing the fibrous material, treated with such a suspension after the removal of the solvent, to an environment with relative humidity exceeding 30%.