Fabrication of Hydrophobic ZnO/PMHS Coatings on Bamboo Surfaces: The Synergistic Effect of ZnO and PMHS on Anti-Mildew Properties

Poor mildew resistance has limited the application of bamboo materials. In this work, ZnO/PMHS coatings were fabricated on bamboo timber surfaces by hydrothermal synthesis method and hydrophobic modification with poly(methylhydrogen)siloxane (PMHS). The surface chemical characteristics and microstructure of the bamboo before and after modification were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and water contact angle (WCA). The morphology results indicated that ZnO on the surface of bamboo forms flower-like aggregations. The WCA of ZnO/bamboo increased from 65° to 142° after PMHS hydrophobic modification, indicating that the hydrophobicity of bamboo was significantly improved. The original bamboo had poor anti-mildew properties when exposed to Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium citrinum. After depositing ZnO onto the surface of the bamboo, the anti-mildew properties were significantly improved. Furthermore, it was found that after PMHS hydrophobic modification, ZnO/bamboo had excellent anti-mildew properties when exposed to the three mold hyphae, which indicated that PMHS hydrophobic modification had a synergistic effect on the anti-mildew properties of bamboo with a ZnO coating.