Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies @Unile, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 73010 Lecce, Italy.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2011 Oct;3(10):4024-31. doi: 10.1021/am200891f. Epub 2011 Sep 21.
We demonstrate a simple but highly efficient technique to introduce multifunctional properties to cellulose fiber networks by wetting them with ethyl-cyanoacrylate monomer solutions containing various suspended organic submicrometer particles or inorganic nanoparticles. Solutions can be applied on cellulosic surfaces by simple solution casting techniques or by dip coating, both being suitable for large area applications. Immediately after solvent evaporation, ethyl-cyanoacrylate starts cross-linking around cellulose fibers under ambient conditions because of naturally occurring surface hydroxyl groups and adsorbed moisture, encapsulating them with a hydrophobic polymer shell. Furthermore, by dispersing various functional particles in the monomer solutions, hydrophobic ethyl-cyanoacrylate nanocomposites with desired functionalities can be formed around the cellulose fibers. To exhibit the versatility of the method, cellulose sheets were functionalized with different ethyl-cyanoacrylate nanocomposite shells comprising submicrometer wax or polytetrafluoroethylene particles for superhydophobicity, MnFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles for magnetic activity, CdSe/ZnS quantum dots for light emission, and silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial activity. Morphological and functional properties of each system have been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, detailed contact angle measurements, light emission spectra and E. coli bacterial growth measurements. A plethora of potential applications can be envisioned for this technique, such as food and industrial packaging, document protection, catalytic cellulosic membranes, textronic (electrofunctional textiles), electromagnetic devices, authentication of valuable documents, and antimicrobial wound healing products to name a few.
我们展示了一种简单但高效的技术，通过将乙基氰基丙烯酸酯单体溶液润湿纤维素纤维网络，在其中引入多功能特性，这些溶液中含有各种悬浮的有机亚微米颗粒或无机纳米颗粒。可以通过简单的溶液浇铸技术或浸涂技术将溶液应用于纤维素表面，这两种技术都适用于大面积应用。由于纤维素表面的羟基和吸附的水分，在环境条件下，乙基氰基丙烯酸酯在纤维周围立即开始交联，形成一个疏水性聚合物壳，将纤维素纤维包裹起来。此外，通过在单体溶液中分散各种功能性颗粒，可以在纤维素纤维周围形成具有所需功能的疏水性乙基氰基丙烯酸酯纳米复合材料。为了展示该方法的多功能性，我们用不同的乙基氰基丙烯酸酯纳米复合材料壳对纤维素片进行了功能化，这些复合材料壳包含亚微米级的蜡或聚四氟乙烯颗粒以获得超疏水性、MnFe(2)O(4)纳米颗粒以获得磁性、CdSe/ZnS 量子点以获得发光性能以及银纳米颗粒以获得抗菌活性。通过扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜、详细的接触角测量、发光光谱和大肠杆菌生长测量，研究了每个系统的形态和功能特性。可以想象，这种技术有很多潜在的应用，例如食品和工业包装、文件保护、催化纤维素膜、纺织电子（电功能纺织品）、电磁设备、有价值文件的认证以及抗菌伤口愈合产品等。
