The present invention relates to particles, i.e., oxides of Si, Ti, Zn, Zr, Mn, Al and combinations thereof, where at least one particle has a surface covalently bonded to at least one fluorosilane group. The particle is first bonded to a divalent organic linking group which in turn is bonded to a perfluoroalkyl group. It has been discovered that incorporation of the aforementioned divalent organic linking group can improve the ability of the resulting hydrophobized inorganic particles to impart hydrophobic and oleophobic properties.