Facile fabrication of pufferfish-like structured ZIF-8 on cellulose fibers with superhydrophobicity and anti-bacterial adhesion properties

Recently, papers with superhydrophobic surfaces and unique antibacterial and self-cleaning capabilities have attracted great attention due to its potential applications in cold chain logistics packaging. Therefore, a facile and versatile route to fabricate superhydrophobic and anti-bacterial adhesion dual-functional paper was reported. The approach was based on pufferfish-like structured ZIF-8 incorporated cellulose fibers. Specifically, cellulose fibers without any chemical pretreatment were used as templates for the in situ aqueous construction of pufferfish-like structured ZIF-8 with zinc nitrate as zinc source and dimethylimidazole as organic ligand. After paper-making and hydrophobicity treatment, the obtained paper possessed excellent superhydrophobic and anti-bacterial adhesion properties. These surfaces retained their water resistance after 30 finger-wipe cycles and 10 sandpaper abrasions. Moreover, the hydrophobic surface prepared also showed excellent anti-adhesion performance toward bacteria. This strategy route proposed here can significantly reduce or eliminate potential risks associated with various contamination.