Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Normal Paper Can Become Magnetic, Waterproof, And Anti-Bacterial With Nanoparticle Doping

Paper is one of our daily needs, and almost people of every age used it. Paper is a simple material that came from the skins of the trees, but now it looks like that super-paper is coming into action which will be waterproof, anti-bacterial and magnetic as well. Doping a regular paper with nanoparticles will transform that paper into a super paper with increased functionality and reliability than a normal paper.

According to the scientists at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa, Italy, the conversion of any paper into super-paper involved a process that known as reactive coating, using which the fiber molecules will be combined with a nanoparticle solution which will form a polymer matrix.

The cellulose fibers combine with an acrylic solution containing manganese ferrite nanoparticles will make a nano-shell around each individual fiber that will produce a water-repellent fabric. The good thing about this whole experiment is that scientists can control and change the composition of the nanoparticles. This will help the scientists to make the paper more or less magnetically responsive. With the addition of some colloidal silver, the paper will become antibacterial, so there will be no harm to your health.

The most important thing is that you can use this super-paper just like a normal paper. Therefore, this whole experiment doesn't disturb the natural functions of the paper at all. The super paper can be used in a wide number of areas, for example, the waterproof paper can be used to protect valuable documents and the anti-bacterial paper can be used to in food packaging to save the food from bacteria.

Read More: Journal of Materials Chemistry