Designing a novel type of multifunctional bamboo surface based on an RGO/Ag coating

Abstract

Super-hydrophobic and fire-retardant coatings have been applied to the bamboo surface. However, it remains a significant challenge to develop coating materials that perform multiple functions simultaneously. In this paper, a novel conductive bamboo timber (RGO@AgBT), coated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and silver nanoparticles, was fabricated via a hydrothermal process and a silver mirror reaction process. The RGO@AgBT composites had excellent photo-catalytic activity, meanwhile, the removal rate of rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), and methyl orange (MO) after 60 min photo-degradation were 77.6 %, 88.8 %, and 78.4 %, respectively, superior to the raw bamboo timber (BT) and the bamboo timber coated with reduced graphene oxide (RGOBT). The RGO@AgBT samples showed excellent antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the RGO@AgBT samples exhibited improved thermal stability and fire-resistant property with a limiting oxygen index of 30.5 %. Finally, the future directions of multifunctional bamboo research and opportunities for electronic industry application are prospected.

Keywords

• Bamboo
• Graphene
• Antibacterial activity
• Photocatalytic
• Fire-resistance
• Conductivity