The present study aimed to improve the properties of bacterial cellulose nonwoven fabrics by physical entrapment of lauryl gallate oligomers. The lauryl gallate oligomerization process was conducted by laccase-mediated oligomerization. Lauryl gallate was chemically confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight analyses. The oligomerization conditions were controlled considering the surface properties (water contact angle, surface energy, and water absorption time) of bacterial cellulose nonwoven fabrics. The controlled oligomerization conditions were 160 U/mL of laccase and 20 mM lauryl gallate. After bacterial cellulose was treated by the physical entrapment of lauryl gallate oligomers, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the N1 atomic composition (%) of bacterial cellulose increased from 0.78% to 4.32%. This indicates that the lauryl gallate oligomer molecules were introduced into the bacterial cellulose nanofiber structure. In addition, the water contact angle was measured after washing the bacterial cellulose nonwoven fabric treated by the physical entrapment of lauryl gallate oligomers for 180 minutes, and it was found to maintain a water contact angle of 88°. The durability of bacterial cellulose nonwoven fabric treated by the physical entrapment of lauryl gallate oligomers was confirmed by measuring the tensile strength after wetting and dimensional stability. As a result, the tensile strength after wetting was about five times higher and the dimensional stability was three times higher than that of untreated bacterial cellulose nonwoven fabric.
Owing to its sustainability and environmentally friendliness, bacterial cellulose (BC) has received attention as a zero-waste textile material. Since the color of original BC was mostly yellowish white, a dyeing process is necessary to suggest BC as a textile. Thus, this study aimed to suggest a natural dyeing method using coffee to produce an eco-friendly coffee-dyed bacterial cellulose (BC-COF) bio-leather and to propose a reusing method as a dye adsorbent. To determine the dyeing and mordanting conditions with the highest color strength value, parameters such as dyeing temperature, time, mordanting methods were evaluated. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that BC-COF was successfully colorized with coffee without changing its chemical and crystalline structures. In addition, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis confirmed that coffee molecules were successfully incorporated into fiber structures of BC. The effects of pH, concentration, temperature, and time on the adsorption of methylene blue dye using BC-COF bio-leather were also evaluated using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and zeta potential measurement. The results showed that BC-COF was found to be most effective when pH 6 of methylene blue solution with a concentration of 50 mg/L was adsorbed for 30 minutes at 25°C. Moreover, BC-COF could be reused for multiple times and had better dye adsorption rate compared to the original BC. From the results, it was confirmed that BC-COF could be employed as a dye adsorbent.
In this study, we investigated the effects of the modification of bacterial cellulose used as a template on the in situ polymerization of catechol by laccase. The bacterial cellulose was modified by sulfonation and the entrapment of carboxymethyl cellulose. The catechol polymerization was optimized at a pH of 5.5, catechol concentration of 50 mM, and synthesis time of 24 h. After the in situ polymerization, conductive and colored bacterial cellulose composites were obtained. The bacterial cellulose composites containing oligomers/polymers were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and color strength measurements, and the conductivity of the bacterial cellulose composites was evaluated using a four-probe method. The results revealed that the modification of bacterial cellulose as a template for catechol oxidation resulted in the production of fibers with enhanced coloration and conductive properties owing to the presence of the enzymatically-obtained polymers. The results suggest the promising potential of both sulfonated bacterial cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose-bacterial cellulose as templates for the formation of other functional polymers and composite materials.
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