In situ growth of nano-ZnO/GQDs on cellulose paper for dual repelling function against water and bacteria

• Published in: Materials letters 2021-01, Vol.283, p.128838, Article 128838
• Main Authors: Li, Meiling, Feng, Qiming, Liu, Hui, Wu, Yueru, Wang, Zhiwei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Cellulose; Cellulose fibers; Cellulose paper; Contact angle; Crystal growth; Food packaging; Functional; GQDs; Graphene; Hydrophobicity; Materials science; Nano-ZnO; Quantum dots; Stearic acid; Substrates; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2020.128838

•In situ growth of nano-ZnO, strong binding with paper, sustainable antibacterial.•GQDs was introduced to enhance the antibacterial effect.•Stearic acid was deposited on the surface of functional paper by vapor condensation.•Stearic acid was introduced to increase the hydrophobicity. To expand the application of cellulose paper for food and drug packaging, in this study, an impregnation method was used to allow Zn2+ to enter the fibers of a cellulose paper substrate. A hydrothermal synthesis method was used to enable the in situ growth of nano-ZnO and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) on the surface of the paper to improve the antibacterial efficiency of the cellulose paper. This functional paper was treated with stearic acid to improve its hydrophobicity. This resulted in the preparation of nano-ZnO/GQDs hydrophobic paper with an antibacterial efficiency of 85.7% and a contact angle of 122.8° with water.