A New Kind of Fire-resistant Inorganic Paper

A new kind of highly flexible fire-resistant inorganic paper made from ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires is reviewed. The fire-resistant inorganic paper exhibits high flexibility, high biocompatibility, nonflammability, high thermal stability, and excellent mechanical properties, which can be used for writing and printing, and is promising for permanent and safe storage of information, such as archives and important documents. The preparation process of this new kind of fire-resistant inorganic paper is environmentally friendly. The fire-resistant inorganic paper has many other potential applications in various fields. This new kind of fire-resistant inorganic paper provides a promising perspective for a possible substitute for the traditional cellulose paper, which has caused serious natural resource and environmental problems. In this review, we introduce the recent progress made in the research of this new kind of fire-resistant inorganic paper. Various kinds of fire-resistant paper sheets made from ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires with different functions and applications are reviewed, including fire-resistant paper, superhydrophobic fire-resistant paper, antibacterial fire-resistant paper, photoluminescent fire-resistant paper, biomedical test paper, biopaper, refractory protection layer of the fiber-optic cable, and high-efficient filtration paper.