Superhydrophobic and antibacterial wood enabled by polydopamine-assisted decoration of copper nanoparticles

Abstract Wood veneer had been widely used in interior decoration or fitment, but its application was still limited due to deformation after absorbing water and bacterial erosion. In this paper, a Cu coating owned superhydrophobic and antibacterial capabilities on wood veneer was fabricated by a facile and valid method. The wood veneer with superhydrophobic and antibacterial properties was prepared by self-polymerization of dopamine, chemical deposition of Cu nanoparticles, and hydrophobic modification using fluorosilane. The water contact angle and sliding angle of obtained Cu coating reached 155.7° and 4°, respectively. Meanwhile, the as-prepared coating showed resistance to acid or base solutions with different pH values, different temperatures aging and mechanical damages, and also displayed a good self-cleaning ability. In addition, the modified wood exhibited outstanding antibacterial activities towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This work supplied a novel way to endow the superhydrophobic and antibacterial properties on wood veneer, and promote its multifunction application.