Advanced bamboo composite materials with high-efficiency and long-term anti-microbial fouling performance

Renewable bamboo materials have broad application prospects in the fields of structural construction, insulation and acoustic management due to their multi-layer porous structure, attractive directional layout texture, ultra-fast growth rate, and excellent mechanical strength. However, the annual loss of bamboo material due to the microbial corrosion accounts for one-tenth of the total output. In this work, the hydrophobic associating hydrogel (HAH) with chitosan (CS) and zinc oxide (ZnO) has been in situ filled in the micro-nano-scale pores of natural bamboo materials to significantly enhance their anti-microbial fouling performance. It is difficult for the mildew and oxygen in the air to come into the bamboo materials due to the artificial hydrogel barrier layer. CS and ZnO nanomaterials further increase the anti-bacterial rate of bamboo composites to 100%. Based on the physical crosslinking between the polyacrylamide (PMA) of HAH hydrogel and natural bamboo fibers, CS and ZnO bacteriostatic media are not easy to be lost from the bamboo materials. The 100% anti-bacterial rate of the bamboo composite materials can be maintained for at least 56 days. Therefore, the bamboo composites have great application potential as building materials in the future. Graphical abstract In-situ polymerization method was used to fill the micropores of bamboo with super-elastic hydrogel to enhance its anti-microbial fouling performance.