Facile way to enhance paper properties
A new work describes a quick and efficient flame-retardant, antibacterial and antifungal treatment for high-performance cellulose paper.
Cellulose-based paper is widely used in communication, arts, and cultural relic protection, but is susceptible to fire and mildew. Traditional protective materials have negative impacts on the appearance, flexibility, and writability of paper, resulting in severely limited applications. Reseachers have now demonstrated a quick and effective approach for enhancing the flame retardancy, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of cellulose papers by assembling polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) and sodium polyphosphate (PSP).
Appreciable fungal resistance
By exploiting hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions, PHMB and PSP can assemble into micro-nano protuberances that are deposited on the surface of the paper through a 30 s dip-treating technology. The PHMB/PSP layers promote the formation of char layer when exposed to flame, providing the paper with self-extinguishing property with a limiting oxygen index value of 34.5 % and an 84.0 % reduction in peak heat release rate. Meanwhile, the treated papers exhibit excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus (>99.99 %) and appreciable fungal resistance against T. viride (Grade 1). Importantly, the treatment does not alter the appearance, mechanical stability, and writability of the paper.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 185, December 2023.
