A facile approach towards self-reinforced antibacterial paper (SRAP)

A facile process to prepare self-reinforced antibacterial paper (SRAP) was developed by in situ synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) in partially dissolved cellulose. The SRAP was fabricated by impregnating filter paper in zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) solution and then reacting with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Filter paper was firstly impregnated with ZnCl₂ solution of 65 wt% concentration for 5 seconds at 80℃, and then pressed at 3.85 kPa for 5 seconds to remove excess liquid. Subsequently, the paper was soaked in a 0.8 wt% NaOH solution for 1 hour, and then washed with deionized water, and dried finally to yield SRAP. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the SRAP. The results revealed that the SRAP contained intact cellulose fibers as the skeleton, gelled cellulose as the matrix, and clusters of nano ZnO particles as the filler. The SRAP had a much higher density, tensile and burst strength, compared with the untreated cellulose paper, and the folding strength was enhanced by more than fifteen times. In addition, the SRAP had outstanding antibacterial properties due to the presence of nano ZnO particles.