Patent 8491668 was granted and assigned to Cornell University Press on July, 2013 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Methods are provided for uniform deposition of particles on curved surfaces such as fibers and coatings formed by the particles. Particles in the size range of 10-2000 nm are deposited onto a fibrous material via electrostatic interaction between charge modified fiber material surfaces and oppositely charged particles or metal ions. Various nonmetallic, bimetallic or other charged particles are deposited onto a fibrous material via electrostatic interaction between charged modified fibrous material surfaces and oppositely charged particles. Particles can be directly assembled onto a surface of a fibrous material by controlling hydrogen bonding interactions between interfaces of fibers and functionalized particles. Metal particles can also be deposited by in situ synthesis. A method is also provided for layer-by-layer deposition of particles over a fibrous material.